Adaption
by Kittykeeper
Summary: She was a weapon first, an organism second.She refused to call herself human, for in her mind she wasn't.Pain was what she was taught and pain was what she delt.Her name?Sakura Haruno.Her story? Never fully told. Ita/Saku eventually. Read notes please!R
1. Prologue: Stranger in the Night

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Disclaimer: I do not own Naruto or any of its characters!

**Prologue: The stranger in the night.**

Thunder pealed, shattering the once blissful calm of the August night; foreshadowing the curtain of rain that loomed in the distance, which was quickly approaching the village Konoha. Many of the ever dignified night guards who attended the gates, which were left open the elements, muttered strings of curses, as if meaningless words would somehow cease the inevitable. A flash of startling white light, accompanied by another roll of thunder, instigated the merciless assault of heavenly tears. The watchers by the North Gate were the first to come into contact by the frontline, and were soon drenched from head to toe. The ground quickly reached its capacity and small puddles formed, rapidly evolving into much more daunting bodies of water.

A small splash, barely audible due to the ongoing downpour, alerted the North Gate's guards of the arrival of an uninvited guest. Though wet, cold, grumpy, and more then a bit grimy, the guards took their jobs with the utmost seriousness, reacting immediately, tensing and readying themselves for an attack from any direction since visibility was almost zero. Another splash, another footstep. Evidently the person wasn't too keen on keeping hidden.

"Calm yourselves, I mean you no harm." A voice rang out from in front of them, distinctly feminine, shortly followed by a shadow detaching itself from the curtain of darkness before them. The woman continued to stride towards the guards, seemingly unaware of their brandished weapons, stopping a mere three feet before them. One of the guards, the one on the right, squinted at her in a feeble attempt to distinguish her as a friend or a foe. Unfortunately, for said guard, she was clad in a simple, dark colored robe and hood, leaving no patches of skin; even her hands were gloved.

"Remove your hood." The guard's voice wavered slightly as an unknown apprehension contaminated the air.

"Tch. I hate doing so in such conditions, but I guess it cannot be avoided." The woman spoke more to herself then to the guards.

Her right hand slowly ascended to the back of her hood where it hesitated as if teasing them. Then in one vicious yank it was off, and the mysterious intruder unveiled. Both guards' eyes widened and their jaws slackened from shock. Hastily they sheathed their weapons, muttering humble apologizes and more confident 'welcome back's'.

Giving slight, courteous nods of recognition and acceptance to them, she continued, unperturbed, with unmatched grace, to her unknown destination; her vibrant yet soothing, pink hair clinging to her thoroughly soaked attire, and her emerald eyes, once bright and lively, stared directly in front of her, unwavering, dull and empty. Though numerous things had most certainly changed about her, one this was for sure. The long awaited, yet unscheduled, day had finally arrived.

On August 18th, in the year of the Tiger, at 2:00 AM, in unsightly weather conditions, soaked to the bone, Sakura Haruno finally returned to the village Konoha, her home.

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**Dear Readers,**

**I can't seem to get anything further on my other stories. I guess you could say I dove in without thinking about how deep the water was. Or how shallow. I didn't have a plot fully set up, and even for this story I don't, though I have it 2/4 - 3/4 of the way compiled. (Only written up to the second chapter). Since I can't seem to move on with my other stories they are up for adoption. Also, I'm a little confused on how to redo chapters if I find a mistake. Any assistance would be greatly appreciated. :) Anyways, read and review! And if you see any mistakes of have any comments/suggestion/constructive critisism (sp?) please be sure to tell me! :) I'm all ears!... Well not literally.**

**Ja ne! **


	2. Chapter 1

Disclaimer: I do not own Naruto or any of its characters.

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**Chapter 1: Of odd receptionists, worse guards, and unlikely circumstances **

Soft splashes of fleeting footfalls were the only indication of Sakura's passage as she seemingly aimlessly roamed the abandoned streets of the sleeping village. Her roaming, however, wasn't all too aimless. She took her time, casually weaving a long and intricate detour to the Hokage's Tower, her lack of overhead protection ignored. She had many reasons for doing so, such as this would probably be the only peace she would have within the next month or so with the news of her arrival, but mainly it was out of practiced habit to maintain an all knowing mental record on the progress of anything that could affect her, or her plans in any way.

The steady pattering of splashes of feet changed abruptly, slowing down and finally ceasing. Hidden in the overcast shadow of a street corner, Sakura hung her head; she had purposely saved this place for last. Pain. It was the one thing that defined her existence, and it all started at the all too young age of five in a little, picture perfect house of horrors in the middle of the street. Oh, how she loathed the pain and the ones who had seen it fit to torture her with it, ripping all the remaining vestiges of what should have been a semi-normal life from her. But, no matter how hard she tried; she knew she couldn't live without it. Pain. As much as she loathed it she embraced it and loved it. The world was a blur of grays and blacks to her. Pain gave the world its color. Red. Anger, passion, hate, malice. Blood. Yes, all the things she had been taught. Taught to ignore, and at the same time embrace, just as she had been taught, quite viciously, everything else.

Her eyes narrowed slight, glinting with mock determination for she couldn't really feel determination… she didn't know how. She only knew how to put up facades. Smiles, laughs, sneers, anger… all farces to hide the empty nothingness that overflowed from her non-existent heart. Another splash, and the pattern resumed, as if she hadn't stopped to begin with. The pattern continued, never once breaking or distorting, not even as she passed the little house of horrors. It wasn't really hers to begin with. It was his, and she refused to even think about him, much less his name. 'Now is not the time to dwell on such foolish things.' She scolded herself as she silently slipped past the heavy wooden doors of her final destination: the Hokage Tower. However, unlike her noiseless entry, the reverberating thud of the cumbersome doors snapping back into place, accompanied with the steady plopping of droplets, startled the somewhat asleep receptionist at the front counter.

"Sakura… Haruno…?! No… this must be a dream!" The receptionist, clearly dazed from drowsiness, did not perceive the actual reality of the matter.

"This is no dream. If you have trouble staying awake at such hours I suggest you intake large amounts of caffeine, or consult your physician for a solution." Sakura suggested, the worlds coming out of her mouth as if this was a regular occurrence, when in fact, it wasn't.

"Haha! Riiiiight! The Sakura I know is all happy and cherry, so it must be a dream!" The receptionist chirped gaily in denial that the person in front of her was indeed Sakura. 'Normally, someone would feel somewhat annoyed at the situation…' She reminded herself and the corners of her lips titled down in a small frown, feigning annoyance perfectly.

"I hear that there is a superstition that you cannot pinch yourself and feel it in your sleep. I suggest you pinch yourself." Sakura's voice however stayed flat and emotionless.

"Ahah! There's the Sakura I know! Always one to crack a joke!" The receptionist plastered an all too cheesy smile onto her face, still in denial. Sakura merely raised an eyebrow, perplexed.

"It wasn't meant to be a joke."

"You mean you actually want me to pinch myself?!" The receptionist burst out into a fit of giggles. Sakura's lips formed a taught line.

"Is there any other way that would prove to you that this is not a dream?" Sakura asked innocently. The receptionist, clearly flabbergasted, finally relented and pinched herself.

"Ow!" The receptionist's screech pierced the air, waking a slumbering pigeon from its once peaceful sleep outside.

"I take it you realize that this is not a dream?" The receptionist merely grunted in reply, as she was busy nursing the arm that she pinched. "Am I allowed to see myself up to the Hokage's office, or do I need to be escorted?" Sakura finally inquired when the receptionist was once again beginning to doze off. Almost immediately the receptionist jumped out of her seat in alarm.

"This isn't a dream!" The receptionist breathed out.

"I believe we've already established that." 'The receptionist isn't all too bright. I wonder what she did in order to attain such a post.' Sakura refrained voicing her thoughts, as she knew that the receptionist would most likely take it as an insult. After a few moments of pure blinking the dazed receptionist finally remembered her duty.

"If you'll follow me, I'll show you to the Hokage." The receptionist's heels clicked harshly against the hard floor, as if admonishing Sakura for her impolite thoughts. One left turn, thirty flights of seemingly never ending stairs, and one right turn later they stood before the heavy wooden doors of the Hokage's office. With two very annoyed guards as an unexpected obstacle.

"I thought I told you to only allow important people up here! And that was if it was an emergency!" The guard on the left hissed out, making the receptionist quail in fear. The remain guard abruptly seized the white collar of the receptionist's uniform, lifting her off the ground to come face to face with an ugly sneer.

"P-p-please! It is important! Sakura Haruno has returned!" The frightened receptionist blurted out, struggling to remove the guard's gnarled hand.

"Haha! And let me guess, so is Sasuke Uchiha and Orochimaru, carrying a bunch of flowers!" Both guards howled in laughter, meanwhile Sakura, still hidden in the shadows of the staircase, found no amusement in the horrible joke, or their poor treatment of the receptionist.

"Let her go." Sakura finally stepped out of the shadows. They all froze, eyes sliding over to her and glazing over in shock. The expressions on the guards' faces were priceless. A mix of a sneer and grin plastered on their faces with dazed, glassy eyes. Forget the receptionist, it was the guards that should be fired. "I said, let her go." Though her voice was still unwavering and emotionless, the unspoken threat of bodily harm was unmistakable.

Seemingly of their own accord the guard's hand snapped open, fingers shaking in unimaginable fear, letting the receptionist collapsed in a wheezing and disgruntled heap on the floor. It was amazing what one could do with a mere glance and a few implied words.

Turning to the receptionist, she ordered her to return to her post, intentionally making her voice calming and soothing.

"Now, will you show me in? Announce me?" Sakura's words held none of their former pleasantness for the guards. Instead they had turned emotionless and slightly biting.

"Y-yes Miss Haruno." The guard who had so quickly assaulted the receptionist stuttered and nervously crept up to the extravagant double oak doors of the Hokage's office, leaving a solitary guard in the hallway. The ear piercing creaking of the doors swinging open on un-oiled hinges echoed throughout the hallway, the lack of sound from other sources only amplifying it and effectively increasing the tension in both the Hokage's office and the adjacent hallway.

"P-please Hokage-s-sama, you have an honorable v-visitor." The guard's demeanor slowly started to crack under unseen pressure, consequentially making him stutter.

"You may dismiss them. Tell them to see me at a later date." The Hokage's voice was hard and informative, and due to the guard's position she lacked a view of her honorable visitor.

"Tsu-Tsunade-s-sama, you really s-should –" The guard was cut off as a heavy palm was placed on his shoulder.

"Let me." Sakura's voice was soft, barely audible to the guard's ears. "Tsunade, I never knew you as one so foolish to dismiss an honorable visitor without learning their name. I'm disappointed." Sakura chided her old mentor. The guard sidestepped to the right, stiffly giving a respectful bow and hastily darting out of the suddenly stale room. No on ever called the Hokage by their first name without a respectable surname, and never had someone admonished the Hokage so candidly. No one except –

"S-Sakura H-Haruno?!" Tsunade gasped out, dashing out of her leather seat and colliding with the cherry desk in front of her, nearly causing it to topple over. Completely oblivious to her ex-mentors state of mind, her eyes swept over the entire room, cold and calculating, not missing a single spec of dust. What she saw wasn't exactly what she had hoped for, but she would make do with it.

From the looks of it, it seemed that a mission meeting was being held, and from the time of the meeting, a rather important one.

"My apologizes for intruding Hokage-sama. Perhaps I should wait in the hall until further notice?" Sakura's eyes never left the shinobi in the room, where as her words where directed to Tsunade.

"No, no. It's quite all right. We were… we were just talking about you actually." Tsunade gulped rather loudly and pressed out imaginary wrinkles in her attire before graciously taking her seat and inhaling an excessive amount of air. At this Sakura raised an eyebrow.

"Really? What a coincidence." By now the other inhabitants of the room were beginning to come to their senses. Particularly a loud mouth baka, who was determined to become Hokage one day named –

"Sakura!! When did you come back?!" A high-pitched squeal filled the room causing everyone to cringe.

"Naruto, there is no need to notify the entire village of my return just yet. I only just arrived." In a matter of seconds the inhabitants of the once deathly still room leapt to embrace her in a much-unwanted bear hug. Unfortunately for said inhabitants, they failed to notice that she had moved out of the way and instead ended up hugging the floor. "Ino, Hinata, Shikamuru, Choji, Naruto, Kiba, Shino, Neji, Tenten, Lee, Sai." She addressed them one by one as they gingerly picked themselves off the floor, mumbling about how rude it was to not accept welcome back hugs. "My apologies for causing you trouble, but for future reference… don't touch me unless absolutely necessary." So far Sakura's voice had remained stiff and political, but by the end of her sentence she had dropped her façade to show how serious she was, leaving her voice empty.

Everyone froze in the room at the sound of it.

"Sakura, what happened?" Tsunade whispered out, just loud enough for it to reach their ears in way that one would almost think that it was one's imagination. 'Hn. Imperfect again I see.' Sakura silently criticized herself. She had forgotten to keep up the façade, but after a moment's deliberation she decided it was all right to deviate from her charted course a few times. That didn't mean she was going to tell them outright.

"My apologies, but I can't tell you. It's personal." Sakura kept her voice low to imitate emotional grief and pain. They bought it.

"All right, but if you ever need to tell us about it… well you know what to do."

Tsunade feebly tried to console her.

"Of course." Sakura's voice was back to its original, monotone state.

"Now, onto business." Tsunade's back straightened, and lines formed across her forehead as she frowned in thought.

"What business?" Ino, Sakura's ex-best friend and ex-rival peeped up. Ex because Sakura had no room for friends, or so she believe, as bonds of the type only made you weak, and also because she posed no threat to Sakura's goal… whatever that was.

"Sakura, you ran away almost seven years ago!" 'Actually I absconded approximately 6 years, 11 months, 23 days and 19 hours ago. Give or take a few minutes.' Sakura rectified Tsunade silently. "By now you would have been labeled a missing-nin, and put in the bingo book. However, though you are a missing-nin you have committed no wrong doing –" 'That you know of.' "Against the village. Because of this, your punishment is undecided."

"WHAT?!" Naruto, Ino, and Kiba couldn't refrain themselves from yelling out. The thought of Sakura being a missing-nin and receiving a punishment for technically doing nothing wrong unnerved them.

"Will you let me finish?!" Tsunade was on the verge of screaming at them. Spending almost 2 hours with them in a solitary room, trying to explain a simple reconnaissance mission to them was not one of her favorite things to do, especially when something unexpected comes along, such as the reappearance of Sakura. "Because of this I will have to confer with the council. Until then, I'm afraid you'll have to be imprisoned." At this the remaining Rookie Nine were on the brink of tearing the room apart. "SILENCE!" Tsunade roared. She had enough of the brats for now. Where was her sake when she needed it? Oh right, Shizune had built a nice, cozy bonfire out of it the previous week and she had forgotten to replenish her stash. "If it is any comfort, I assure you your sentence will probably be nothing too harsh, if you receive one at all."

"Of course Hokage-sama. Take as long as you need." Sakura's answer stunned the entire room. She had basically just said she didn't mind staying in a smelly, dingy, rat infested dungeon with little or no light. And to add that she said it in an uncaring way was incredulous.

"Of course." Tsunade was dubious on how to respond to such a response. Never in her life had she seen one so emotionless and dispassionate. It was unsettling. "You are all dismissed. Guards! Please take Haruno to a clean cell. She is to be treated with the utmost respect." Everyone in the room froze, and the tips of Sakura's lips turned downwards. Getting special treatment when she was no better then the scum in the dungeon didn't settle for all too well with her. Especially when she realized if anything, she was worse. But orders were orders, and she knew better then to speak against orders from one in a higher authority.

Stiffly bowing respectfully to each person in the room, which amazing only took a few seconds, she exited the room, allowing the guards to escort her to her cell and her temporary home.

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**Dear Readers,**

**Hiyas its me again! :D (No really?!) Anyways, thank you so much for all the feed back on the prologue! I know it was a bit short, but I also didn't want to delve in too far. However I think that effected the progress of this chapter since it's also pretty short. I'll try to make my others longer, while at the same time try not to bore you to death. Again, any comments/constructive crits./suggestions are welcome! :D Hmmm... did I forget anything...? Nope don't think I did. Then again, I'm pretty forgetful. Oh well.**

**Ja ne!**


	3. Chapter 2

**Disclaimer: I do not own Naruto or any of its characters!**

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**Chapter 2: Of Boys and Bonds and Bloodied Hands Chapter 2: Of Boys and Bonds and Bloodied Hands**

"Here you go. Please enjoy your stay." The two guards who had dutifully escorted her to her not so cozy cell hesitated before bowing and walking off. Alone in the dingy room, as none of the other cells were currently occupied, she reflected on the poor sense of well, common sense that guards had, had. For starters they hadn't even checked to see if she had any weapons on her body, nor did they think to comprehend her physical strength or calculate her chakra power and the jutsu she could have learned. All in all, if she wanted to break out of the rat infested, god forsaken place she could do so in the wink of an eye.

Fortunately she wasn't an enemy of the village, and thus far they hadn't given her a reason to break out of the place. Then again, she wasn't going to exactly call herself their ally seeing as her horrific past had all been situated around this place. Still, she couldn't help but be slightly put off by their lack of protocol. Either they were idiotic morons, which they probably were, underestimated her, which they probably did, or they just trusted her too much, which they probably did. Or maybe it was just a combination of the three. Which it probably was.

The harsh rasping of the metal door being pulled open drew Sakura out of her reverie.

"Get in there you scum bag!" A harsh growl followed by a small whelp reverberated throughout the room. "Alright then I'll drag you in!" A small boy, no more then eight years old, was dragged slowly, torturously by his hair into the cell next to hers, despite the boys protests. Bruises dotted the visible skin on his arms and legs, accompanied with the occasional bleeding scratch. 'Probably from abuse from the guards.' Sakura concluded.

"Please sir! You have to understand! If you don't let me out, sis and nana will starve!" The boy pleaded desperately, gripping the open door to the cell, despite his already badly deteriorating health.

"Shut up you brat!" The guard slapped the child viciously across the face, causing fresh blood to start to flow from already broken lips. Unable to sustain an upright position, the boy collapsed in a sobbing heap at the entrance of the cell. "Quite your whining you piece of crap!" The guard kicked the boy with horrendous strength in the ribs, propelling him into the wall of the cell, causing the whole room to shake and bits of debris to fall dejectedly to the floor. "And shut up while you're at it!" The guard laughed merrily on his way out.

Sakura did not approve of the unnecessary abuse of the inmates. When she got out, she would report it immediately she concluded. Sniffles and broken sobs alerted her to the boy's distress.

"Boy, what is your name?" Sakura asked in a soothing voice, impelled to show the boy that she meant him no harm. Still the boy was weary of her.

"L-Leon ma'am." The boy hesitantly answered back.

"Leon, do you have a last name?" Sakura inquired.

"No ma'am."

"I see. Come over here Leon, to my side of the cell. I'll heal your wounds." The boy's eyes shined in gratitude.

"Really ma'am?!" Even though it was clear the boy was in immense pain, he stilled managed to grin widely.

"Yes. Come." Sakura gently beckoned him over. Hissing, Leon gradually made his way over to Sakura, collapsing from exhaustion by the edge. A small smile crept its way, unnoticed, to her face as she gently brushed back the sea green bangs of the boy, resting her palm on his forehead. Bit by bit she inserted her chakra into his system, stimulating the cells to repair themselves. Almost instantly the bruises and scrapes vanished, leaving unblemished skin. A few seconds later his breathing became less labored and ragged, and more relaxed as his ribs set themselves back into place.

It took an unprecedented amount of approximately 3.546 seconds to heal what most would have called serious injuries, compared to the usual day or so with in time at the hospital that it took most others. Miniscule lines of uncertainty crossed her forehead as she incorporated the fact of her arrival with her unmatched abilities in all fields. She hadn't really given it much though, but now upon greater evaluation she realized it could become a hindrance. Shoving such thoughts aside, she focused herself on the present.

A slight twinge alerted her to her numerous scars that she left unhealed. Her hand itched to rise up and silence them, wanting to allow the soothing warmth of the healing chakra to remove all the reminders of her past from her. But she couldn't. 'Damn his last order.' Sakura scowled at herself silently, faking anger at herself though there was no around to see it but herself and the sleeping boy.

There was no escaping the pain. It just wasn't an option. She had already tried on numerous occasions, some of them safer then others. However one thing would never change, no matter how hard she tried. She was a weapon first and an organism second. Her path, her destiny, had been chosen for her since the day she was born. Nothing could change that, the damage was already done; permanent and irrevocable, or so she thought. 'Pointless to waste valuable time on such trivial matters.' Sakura concluded, securely locking the gate to such thoughts. She was made to obey, and only to obey. No free will, no opinions. Not when there was a master.

But Leon, Leon was a different story, a whole different book with hopefully a happier ending. Sakura would help him out, even it was just releasing him from the hellhole and giving him and whoever his sis and nana were a home. After that, their relationship would be non-existent she concluded; unless his name appeared on one of her termination contracts, it was highly unlikely that would happen, especially with her new master.

Once again, as it seemed fate liked to deem it so quite often, Sakura was pulled out of her thoughts. The rasping of the metal door being shoved open once more reverberated loudly throughout the small cells, waking Leon from his peaceful slumber. Artificial light burst through the door, temporarily blinding Leon while Sakura merely stared straight at it dully. 'Interesting. I lost track of time. Imperfect.' Sakura berated herself mentally as she observed the almost non-existent light seeping in through measly cell windows and comparing it to the artificial light.

"Miss Haruno, your dinner." The guard courteously bowed, lifting the food door to her cell and preparing to slide the exquisite meal of fresh shrimp, roasted salmon topped with butter and herbs, seasoned seasonal vegetables, sliced kiwi and several exotic beverages. Tsunade had really over done herself in making sure Sakura had ever comfort she could deem possible in a shabby prison.

"Thank you, but I'm not hungry. Please give it to the boy, Leon." Sakura politely refused, manipulating her voice to make her words sound like honey while also slightly venomous.

"But Haruno-san, he is a petty thief, a scoundrel a –"

"I said give him the meal. If the government had a fair economy that at least had some sort of relief fund for the homeless he wouldn't have had to steal in the first place. In other words, you owe him the meal for being the greedy, selfish and arrogant, stereotypical person." Sakura turned her voice harsh and scolding, getting her point sharply across.

"Of course Haruno-san." The guard's eyes smoldered in anger at her biting words as he snapped shut her food door and briskly open Leon's, shoving the food, disregarding the speed in doing so, and nearly spilling it all.

"Be more careful next time. You nearly spilled the food." Sakura stated eyes closed, her voice once more emotionless, from a meditative pose that she silently had gotten into.

"Of course Haruno-san." The guard's words were interlaced with venom that the deadliest snake in the world would have envied and he hastily departed the room, intentionally forgetting the respective bow, which didn't go unnoticed by Sakura even though she had her eyes closed. Second day back in the village and she already had made an enemy. Not that she cared.

"Thank Miss Haruno! Thank you!" Leon nearly cried with joy. It seemed he hadn't had a meal, much less a feast in a long time. Sakura opened her eyes and faked a small smile.

"Please, call me Sakura. It was no problem. I rarely eat anything, much less a feast." Sakura replied, fake warmth replacing the nothingness of the normality of her voice.

"Still, thank you Sakura. It means a lot." Leon beamed up at her from the other side of the cell bars, seemingly forgetting about the cooling food.

"You might want to eat it before it gets cold. And get some rest afterwards, it will do you good." Sakura politely reprimanded him; acting like a normal mother would as she concluded it was the proper way to act in such circumstances. Leon nearly swallowed everything whole it seemed, shoving food down his throat in hungry desperation. "And don't eat so fast you'll get a stomach ache." Sakura decided to add, not wanting the peace and quiet of the cells to be broken by groans of discomfort.

"I think it's too late for that." Leon groaned out, wincing and hold his stomach. Sakura pursed her lips, feigning annoyance. Sighing Sakura slid to the edge of the cell, and grasped Leon's hand. Almost immediately he felt relief from the pressure and a grin of gratitude raced onto his face.

"There that should help. Now, get some sleep." Sakura cooed gently to Leon in attempt be left in peace in quiet.

"All right Sakura. Thanks again." Leon breathed out and in a matter of seconds zonked out. Sakura's vacant eyes stalked Leon impassively as he breathed in and out, a single thread of discord flashing a warning inside her mind. Already she could decipher a bond between her and Leon; even it was only one way. She had done her best to stay polite and seemingly caring, as any normal, up-right person would be while at the same time detached. Her attempt was a fiasco to say the least. 'It was inevitable from the beginning. Fool.' Sakura criticized herself once more. Many would call her own mental abuse a lack of self-esteem or some form of mental disorder that required her to receive medical help from a physiatrist. Sakura was well aware of the many potential obstacles that came with such a point a view, but it was her opinion that she was rightfully titled. Even if it wasn't entirely her own.

However, for the sake of others she kept that, and many other more important and… personal things to herself. She may be emotionless but she understood the basic fundamentals of the useless things. She knew that she were hazardous in situations, clouding and distorting ones judgment. She knew that they often caused people to come to outrageous conclusions based on little or no evidence. She knew that they had no connection to anything logical; you could not calculate the outcome precisely leading to imperfect plans and strategies, which could potentially hinder a contract's completion. But she knew that they were important to people, and she knew that she once had them, a long, long time ago. So long she couldn't remember anything about them other then what she could differentiate now.

But for that simple reason she upheld other's feelings, doing whatever she could to make them happy. If she could not be happy, at least others could be was her normal train of thought. Only contracts and orders were allowed to null that personal statute. Those were to be filled out to the letter. One misgiving, one miniscule flaw would mean her imperfection; verification of her own pathetic weakness, her inability to adapt quickly enough. 'A wandering, aimless mind does no one good.' Sakura diligently reprimanded herself, stilling her mind until it was an eerily peaceful lake that glimmered like pure glass, reflecting only the empty void of her heart and soul. Bit by bit the two worlds, one of undisturbed peace, other of mere nothingness, merged; the unrelenting darkness swallowing everything whole. 'Adequate.' She graded herself, knowing that she was imperfect for even having such thoughts and having to take such tedious actions.

Her eyes strayed from Leon's still slumbering form to the golden light that filtered in through the diminutive cell window, flecks of dust hovering uselessly, reflecting the light feebly. The sweet tweeting of newly awakened birds drifted in with the light, hiding the coolness of the morning with the leftovers of summer. 'You have been idle for too long.' Sakura stated to herself, reinitiating her calculating and over productive mind. Judging from the angle of the rays of light entering from the window and the sounds from the birds she concluded that it was early morning, probably around five or six.

'Third day.' Sakura jotted down on a mental notebook. According to the most logical prediction the outcome of the hearing would reach her today and she would be released from the prison and be compensated for lost time and the misconduct of their actions. As usual her predictions were a direct hit. Once more the grating and rasping of the jail door opening, this time expected, resounded throughout the cells, once more awakening Leon from his slumber. Accompanying the harsh jarring of the door was the softer pattering of many footsteps; 10, no 11 people where entering Sakura calculated. There was no artificial light to blind the entrance of their guests, as it was already bright out, however Sakura almost wished there was.

Tsunade, accompanied by the two head officials and eight other guardsmen, of whom both the abusive guard and the guard who had brought her food were among, entered in gracefully. The two acquainted guards glaring at both Sakura and Leon whilst no one was looking. Ignoring their reproachful looks, Sakura gazed expectantly at Tsunade, already knowing what she was going to saw.

"Sakura Haruno, the council and I have come to the agreement that any punishment would be unfit to wield on you, including imprisonment. You have never turned your back to your village, nor have you done any harm to it, intentionally or accidentally. For this we offer our humblest apologizes for imprisoning you while we took our time to reach our verdict." Tsunade stated the obvious; anyone that you could have asked on the streets would have called it unfair. And if they knew about the special treatment they would have called it idiocy.

"Thank you Hokage-sama. Your apologies are accepted. Please though, skip the preamble for I have never been one for idle chat." Sakura politely requested, knowing it would throw them off.

"Of course Sakura. No punishment will be given and all of your foster father's possession will be given custody unto you since you are the closest family he ever had." Sakura nearly flinched as Tsunade began. She did not need his possessions. She had to find a way to rid herself of them. Fast. "Furthermore, if there is anything we can do to compensate you for the lost time and the improper decision to imprison you, please speak your mind." 'Thank you for giving me an outlet.' It was perfect. It would make people happy, thusly fulfilling her purpose.

"As a matter of fact I do have a few favors you could help me with." Sakura's tone of voice turned more to one of a businessman's. "First if you would be so kind as to give the mansion in the east section of the village to Leon and his family. I also want them to receive the highest education and enough money for them to live comfortable lives. Furthermore the South, North and West mansions will be turned into refuge homes for the homeless. I also require a dwelling to live in. Preferably built according to a blueprint that I draw up. And lastly, I wish you to re-inspect all guardsmen for crimes of abuse of prisoners and hired staff. From the little I've seen I have a feeling you will need to replace most of your police force. I personally had to heal Leon here from what would have been fatal wounds from that guard," Sakura pointed to the guard that had physically abused Leon. "And the guards that were at your very own office, Tsunade, mistreated the receptionist working that night." Sakura eyed the guards coldly at the end of her monologue.

Sakura's esteemed audience was astounded. They knew she had matured greatly over the course of her absence and had probably gained great intellect and observance skills, but to this extent, to see what they had not was shocking to say the least. Tsunade's gaze turned to one of a concerned and remorseful mentor and friend to those of a calculator, a gaze of ingenuity that thought only of her potential, and of how far into that potential she had reached.

"Of course Sakura." Tsunade shattered the silence. "Those of you who need to attend to other duties, please, feel free to leave." Almost immediately the guards and officials made a break for the door, bumping and jostling each other on the way out. It was amusing to say the least. Not wasting time Tsunade pulled out a key from a hidden pocket, making quick work of both her lock, though hesitating before opening Leon's. Tsunade hastily bustled them out of the prison and into the refreshing sunlight, she had other business to attend to, and as much as she wanted to put it off it had to be done.

"Leon, those guards will accompany you and help you find your family and also help you reach your new home." Tsunade pointed to two respectable looking guards waiting at attention. Leon looked uncertainly at the guards, not trusting them fully due to past experiences, then back up to Sakura for reassurance. Once again Sakura forced herself to act like a mother, not wanting to cause Leon any emotional turmoil.

"It's alright Leon. You'll be safe." Sakura's voice was reassuring. Leon grinned widely and ran over to the bemused guards pulling them after him much to their protests.

"Wow. You really do know how to make friends don't you?" Tsunade smiled softly at the boy and his guards as they went in search for his lost family.

"Hn." Sakura grunted in reply, disliking the fact that the bond was strengthening.

"Well then, back to business. Unfortunately due to your unexpected departure you weren't able to complete the jounin or ANBU exams. You will need to complete those. If you manage that you'll most likely be put back on Team 7. They've been lacking their last member for 7 years, refusing to accept any long term comrades in hopes of your return." Tsunade attentively informed Sakura while making her rounds, starting with the hospital.

Sakura, not having been given orders followed Tsunade observing local towns life, while also compiling a mental blueprint of her preferred housing. It had to be and adequate distance from most of the urban parts of town, but not too far for she had to be able to be reached quickly in times of need. She didn't want to be far from the training grounds, or from supply stores. The only spot she could think of was an unused grassy field, surround by old oak trees about two or three miles from the downtown area but still within a one-mile range of the Hokage tower and some smaller supply stores. She would have preferred a greater distance but due to the border of the village it was the largest area she could find that would accommodate the house and any external structures.

"…kura?!" Tsunade halted right before the hospital steps, concern clouding her eyes.

"Hn? My apologies, I was just lost in thought. Would you be so kind as to repeat what you were saying?" Sakura attempted to make amends for her indecorous behavior.

"No need to be so formal and polite Sakura. No worries. I was just wondering how far you have delved into medical jutsu. You said yourself you healed Leon from mortal wounds, I'm interested in seeing your capabilities and maybe, with your consent of course, a position in the hospital staff. Shizune and I are getting swamped with the increasing attacks, both from Sound and rogue-nins." Tsunade gave a weary sigh as they passed through the large glass doors of the village hospital.

"Of course, if you wish me to." Sakura replied absently mindedly while taking in her surroundings. The hospitals had definitely changed. Machines littered the hallways, some of them models that she was quite familiar with and others that puzzled her. Tsunade must have noticed the perplexed glimmer in her usual cold gaze and decided to answer her silent question.

"Due to the inundation of patients we've had to teach those with little or no chakra or chakra control. The machines help to stabilize the patient for longer periods of time without the help of external chakra."

"I see." Sakura half-lied in response. In truth she was still put off by their existence. With machines there was more room for a mistake to occur and it wasted both time and people which could be more useful in other fields. And in the first place shouldn't the current med-nins be as powerful as what the hospital would need? Had the quality of ninja in the village gone down in her absence? Or had she been so ignorance and naïve of the village's current shortcomings? 'It does not matter. What do is done, what is, is.' Sakura stated coolly to herself to brush away such insignificant quandaries.

"Lady Tsunade! We have a critical patient incoming! Left lung has collapsed and is beginning to fill with blood due to a rib puncture. Heart system is failing and several alveoli in the right lung are crushed!" A harsh yell from the bottom ensued a rush of chaos.

"My lady, if you wish, I could heal the patient as an example of my medical skills which you could then evaluate on my performance on short notice." Sakura suggested calmly, seemingly unaware of the serious matter at hand.

"Only if you are sure you're going to be able to save the patient Sakura. Losing the first patient, no matter how hard won't do you good on your record. Neither will setting your goals too high."

"I know my own strength Tsunade. It will prove no challenge." Sakura replied evenly. Tsunade hesitated. If what Sakura said was true then she was easily the best medic-nin in village, maybe even between they're allies. But still, there was that risk of losing a life, probably an ANBU's. What is really worth it?

"Alright." Tsunade's answer was strong willed, leaving no room for time wasting inquiries on her seemingly foolish decision, and from the stricken looks on many of the spectators' faces they wanted to.

"You have my thanks. I take it everyone is willing to cooperate and do exactly as I say during the procedure?" Sakura directed her answer to all the nearby on lookers. Soft murmurs of their full cooperation whisked through the room before everything stilled in nervous tension. "My first and only order is this: please make stay a minimum of five feet from myself and the patient during the procedure which I will be performing in this room." Several loud shocked, and some rather disgusted, gasps filled the air, even Tsunade was dubious on an operation in the middle of the entrance, even if it was a critical cause in need of immediate attention. "I guess in addition, I must request total silence. Please, bring the patient forward."

Much to Sakura's voiceless gratitude the crowd kept an eerie silence, only the soft churning of the patient's wheel's and labored wheezing disturbing it. Many of the spectators grimaced and cringed at the state of the man. He had a gaping hole between his ribs on his right sight, several deep cuts on his legs and arms and blood drenched his face, making what would have been quite a handsome face into a gruesome bloody glob. It was utterly amazing that the man was alive. Wasting no time, Sakura stepped up to the stretcher and placed a black-gloved hand on the man's chest, ignoring the blood and guts. 'Major blood loss, punctured lung, left lung collapsed, several crushed alveoli, several toxins and short period before going into cardiac arrest.' Sakura quickly diagnosed the man, eyes roving over his bloody body.

Unexpectedly her eyes snapped closed, the crowd leaning closer to see what she was going to do. A soft, emerald green glow encased her had, diffusing partially into the man's body. Almost instantly his wound began to heal. Murmurs of astonishment and disbelief ran through the crowd like a raging wild fire, Tsunade's eyes were the size of saucers even. Only about a minute later did the green light fade and her eyes gradually slide open to gaze at the wide eyes of the man she had just saved.

"He should rest for the rest of the day, get him washed up if he's too tired to do it himself, and send him home to rest. He should easily be up and running by tomorrow. If not, please notify me or Tsunade-sama." Sakura informed the stunned crowd, sliding back over to Tsunade's side that was still frozen in shock.

"Please, what is your name?" The man feebly asked, not believing he had escaped the jaws of certain death by nothing short of a miracle.

"Sakura Haruno." She answered softly, and yet more murmurs, this time of new rumors and gossip, rippled through the crowd.

"Thank you Haruno-sama, thank you!" The man eagerly expressed his gratefulness.

"Please, do not give me such a respectful title. You should thank Tsunade-sama here that she allowed me to operate on you." Sakura brushed the thanks off politely as she could, though some still caught her drift, the man did not, though he was a bit perplexed. Unused to being in the spotlight she reminded the staff of their duties. "I believe you all have jobs to do. I suggest you do them, people count on you too." Hastily the crowd dispersed, as if the very thought of being in the same room as Sakura terrified them, two nurses pushing the patient and the stretcher away to a vacant room, leaving a stunned Tsunade and an unwavering wavering Sakura standing the middle of the entrance.

"Don't you have errands to run, Tsunade-sama?" Sakura asked politely, almost meekly.

"No, we set them aside for a later date at the moment." Tsunade croaked out hoarsely; Sakura, seemingly oblivious to her master's state inquired on their next task. "I believe that you are more then adequate to handle a full time job at the hospital, if that is what you wish." Tsunade ignored her question and went to the matter at hand. The request of her opinion made her ill at ease, though her outward appearance showed no change. She was used to be given an order and filling it out to the letter, not choices based on personal preference.

"I require time to process the request." Sakura stiffly replied, her voice the normal monotone.

"Of course. Would you mind helping me with my patients today though?" Tsunade inquired. Maybe if she didn't waste so much energy at the hospital she could get some paper work done and appease Shizune, getting some of her precious sake in the process.

"Of course, all you have to do is command me." Sakura replied evenly. Tsunade strode down the hallway, Sakura following just behind. Never once did she give Sakura's total obedience a second thought, nor did she notice the lack of blood on her gloved hand.

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Dear Readers,

**Sorry for the long update period. It's a longer chapter then before, however I have the feeling of it kinda being a tad bit boring and a little too long. I understand that Sakura is a little too cold for the norm, however it will be explained later. I also felt like the end was rushed and horrid, due to the fact that I wrote it just now at 12 AM in the morning with a serious lack of sleep from previous long nights. I also think I used some words too many times, but then again that could be just me. And I don't exactly like the abrupt ending either. But then again, that could also be just me. Please comment and review! And hopefully, it's just me!**

**Thank you! :D**

**Ja ne!**


	4. Chapter 3: Denial

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Disclaimer: I do not own Naruto.

**Chapter 3 Chapter 3: Denial**

By the time Tsunade and Sakura had exited the hospital the putrid smell of blood and sickness permeated the air around them, or mainly Tsunade. For one unknown reason or another the coppery stench of blood refused to keep its hold on Sakura, unlike it so gratefully did on Tsunade, as if it was afraid of offending her. It was only about mid day, but already Sakura and Tsunade alone had cleared out many of the critical and semi-serious patients, Tsunade usually watching from a distance, for her fear of blood was still bordering her conscience at all times, and Sakura doing most of the dirty work, every now and then asking for Tsunade to hold some portion of sliced flesh open so she could see better.

In truth, Sakura didn't need help; she didn't need to actually see the wound. She could see, more like feel, the wound, the problem, with her chakra. Chakra were her eyes, her ears, and it dominated over all her other senses. Senses could lie; you could be trapped in a Genjutsu and never know it but chakra couldn't lie. Everything held chakra, each with it's own density of the chakra ions, that flowed perpetually in a distinct pattern. The more chaotic the pattern, the less control the user or the host had on chakra. It was a simple, yet dauntingly complex concept. For each jutsu you need to reach certain markers, making hand signs in the various years of the zodiac usually increased your concentration and eased the flow of chakra naturally. Then the host summons the chakra, strong enough to pass the gates of the needed markers and the jutsu is activated, overflow and you waste chakra, releasing it to dissipate into the air and land around you, not enough and your chakra wave sputters out before it can reach the gates, that or it does not have enough strength to barge them open.

The more chakra control you had, the less chakra you needed to propel the wave towards the gates and open them. You could open the markers with a solitary ion for each, however the chakra control needed for such a task was almost inhuman. You needed to have literal perfect chakra control, no one in the history of the ninja world had someone had such power an omnipresent substance. Such control would render the person to the state of deity, making them impossible to kill as the chakra would automatically rise to the aid of the host and keep it alive without beck or call, and the very land and sky would tremble and fall just to annihilate the host's enemies.

Tsunade had read about the ancient concept long ago. The solitary, aged manuscript had been so aged and worn by time and small pests that the remains of the muddled script were barely legible. Even so, after pouring ours upon hours of endless nights into the single document she finally deciphered it. However, it was only a general overview of what one could do with such power, and it raised more questions than it answered. There was mention of one person coming close to such power, but evidently he fell more then 5,000 years before Konoha ever dreamt of becoming a reality in an attempt to stop two countries, headed by his best friends, from destroying each other. In the end he stopped the fight, but at the cost of his own life.

The only other link to harnessing such power was a mention of a clan. Supposedly the man had started the clan, and through the clans history they had higher then average chakra control, though never quite to the extent of the man. The clans name was written hastily at the bottom the page, almost as if he was in fear of some impending doom, causing it do be even more indecipherable then the rest. However after pondering on what exactly the letters could be she finally translated it. Idaromc was the clan name, and after spending more fruitless hours searching in her youth to find a document, even a paragraph or sentence referring to them she never discovered a thing about the clan; almost as if they upped and vanished.

That was 36 years ago, when Tsunade was still a chuunin and the memory had long since been buried under years of stress and emotional turmoil. However, Sakura had brought to light the again. She was the closest had seen anyone to perfect chakra control, then again it was hard to measure since she couldn't exactly "feel" chakra or see it's patterns, nor was there a living person to do so, or at least compare her to. And if she were to bring it up to the high council they would admonish her for spreading such blasphemous rumors. Chakra held no pattern, was not composed of ions or tiny particles. It was all spiritual and only people, and certain ones at that, had it, demons and abnormalities the exception. That was the irreplaceable theory that everyone so foolishly believed in. Even in the absence of proof, they believed it.

No. She couldn't bring it up to the council. Not with sound hard evidence. She wanted, no she needed, to prove that Sakura's last name was not really Haruno, she was of the Idaromc clan. The only problem was that she didn't know how. There were no known remaining descendants, no addresses, no names. They didn't exist and they never had in written manuscripts. It was going to be nearly impossible to prove it, but she would. She was determined to prove them all wrong to take the top. She wasn't going to be left in the shadow of Orochimaru or Jiraya, no matter how dark the shadow was. She was going to prove it, and she was going to control it.

"Tsunade-sama, are you alright? You aren't a bit queasy are you?" Sakura asked, false concern wrinkling her face.

"Hn? Of course not, why ask that?" Tsunade hastily covered for her lack of attentiveness.

"You've been standing here in the middle of the street for quite some time, muttering to yourself." Sakura informed Tsunade. Tsunade gulped, she dearly hoped she hadn't let her goals out, especially in front of Sakura.

"I was? What about?" Tsunade's voice quivered slightly despite her best efforts.

"It was indecipherable, my apologies." Sakura replied evenly, though Tsunade still held her doubts.

"You sure?" Tsunade's eyes slightly closed in an attempt to see the truth from the lies.

"Of course I'm sure." Sakura answered, dubious on why she wouldn't be sure. She wouldn't lie to her master, try to deceive her master or commit and wrongdoing or harm against her master, unless her master ordered her to. It simply wasn't an option.

"Ah, well then. Lets be on our way. I need to set up the examinations for you. You've arrived in the middle of the training season for Jounin and ANBU so there are no real tests such as what you went through for the chuunin level when your were younger. However I'm pretty sure we'll be able to scrounge up some sort of equivalent." Tsunade informed her as she began marching her way back to the Hokage Tower, ever-faithful Sakura in tow.

"Ah Shizune! Just who I was looking for!" Tsunade cheerily beamed at her assistant, who seemed very annoyed currently.

"Tsunade. Have you done any of your work yet?!" Shizune barely withheld from yelling at Tsunade, not aware of the past days' on goings.

"Why, as a matter of fact I have! With the help of Sakura here I've finished the whole weeks!" Tsunade replied all too happily. Shizune wasn't fully convinced.

"Really? Is that so? And so, if per chance I were to go asking the guards and such I would realize that Sakura really is back and that your not just trying to be wily and skip out on your work?" Shizune glared at Tsunade skeptically.

"Please, Shizune. Don't make such accusations at Tsunade without any proof other then previous experiences. I'm pretty sure she has giving an excuse for not doing the work instead of lying about actually doing the work in the past. Therefore this should be categorized differently and consequentially evaluated in a different manner. Of course, this is only a mere suggestion and I don't wish to oppose your opinions or rights seeing as you have known Tsunade for a much longer time period then I myself have." Sakura carefully defended Tsunade, not wanting to put enmity between her and Shizune.

Shizune blinked twice, then peered around Tsunade to see non-other then Sakura herself looking blandly back at her.

"Sakura!! Your back!" Shizune cried gleefully and leapt to capture her into an embrace. Normally Sakura would have one more moved out of the way, but since they were on steps she didn't want Shizune to get hurt so she stood her ground, stiff as a board and waited until the hug abated. Unfortunately Shizune it seemed forget to let go for quite so time so Sakura reminded her.

"Please, Shizune. Your welcome is accepted, if you could refrain from any physical contact it would be much appreciated." Shizune cleared her throat and stepped back, a small smile of apology twisting her lips.

"Of course Sakura-san." Shizune added the suffix, not really knowing whether or not it would be appropriate. Sakura was so different from when she had last seen her. She was more serious and cold and almost acted like a well taught slave would behave. 'Don't be and idiot, Sakura isn't a slave, she's your friend!' Shizune scolded herself.

An odd and uncomfortable silence drifted over the three as they stood in the baking sun of midday.

"Ehem," Tsunade cleared her throat. "About that matter I wished to speak to you about Shizune…"

"Of course Lady Tsunade! What is it?" Shizune almost immediately replied; more open to the idea of helping Tsunade now that she was sober and had done her paperwork even if she did have help.

"We need to schedule a jounin exam for Sakura, and since there's a high probability of her passing the jounin exam, an ANBU one too just incase. However since both exams aren't until the next six months, we need a compromise."

"First things first Tsunade. You must tell the council of your wishes and be granted permission." Shizune reprimanded Tsunade for thinking too far ahead. A scowl formed on Tsunade's face.

"I hate having to go to them for every little thing. Am I not the ruler and protector of this village?! They should at least pay a little respect and cut some slack!" Tsunade growled out in frustration.

"I know, but rules are rules." Shizune sighed. Sakura abstained from voicing her opinions, knowing they would upset the two. She didn't understand why they were upset about following simple orders. Then again, she didn't get a lot of things normal people did.

"Well, lets get going. I want to get this over with as soon as possible." Tsunade grumbled, trudging on into the Hokage tower and nodding a polite greeting to the receptionist at the entrance. Without further adieu Tsunade entered the hall on the right and instead of ascending they began to descend. Sakura reasoned it was for safety purposes. Someone could scale the tower quite easily and assassinate the members of the council, however digging would probably get noticed immediately, and she was sure that if someone where to blow up the ground above the chamber that they were holding meetings in that also would be quickly noticed. It was all right to have the Hokage in such a vulnerable due to their expertise as a shinobi. They would probably easily overcome the intruder, and if not then the whole village would have something to worry about.

Without even paying the guards any heed to their stuttering greetings and formalities, Tsunade shoved the heaven oaken doors of the hall open, their reverberations echoing through the hundreds of feet of cement and dirt.

"Hokage-sama, weren't expecting you." One of the high officials icily greeted them before turning to the rest of the council. "We'll discuss this obstacle at a latter date."

"Very well." Another one, with a baldhead and sharp eyes that resembled an eagle's, responded crisply.

"I pray that you have a good reason for this intrusion, Hokage-sama?" The first one who had greeted them languidly asked, as if he was already bored with the topic that was unknown.

"Intrusion? You should pay your Hokage more respect officer. If it weren't for her your village would be in ruins, your great temples and districts all crumbling and burning. Amidst the ashes would be corpses and the weeping mothers morning for their husbands and children only to die soon after. Intrusion," Sakura spat out in fake fury. "If anything it is you who are intruding on her duties. Who are you to question her? You have no shinobi training, for the majority of you. You cannot delve into the mind of your opponent and create a strategy that limits the casualties to a minimum."

"Who is this blasphemous wench you have brought into our presence Tsunade?!" The bald man hissed out, eyes glinting with stony anger and resentment.

"This is Sakura. And you best pay her heed. She, as of this morning, is the most prestigious medic in the history of our country, and probably the world. I've come here to request jounin and ANBU exams for her due to the fact that it would be unwise to restrain such talent for another six months from the battlefield." Tsunade stonily replied. The bald man snorted in disbelief.

"I'm sorry but we can't make compensation exams for every civilian you bring here Tsunade. Even if your claims are true, we simply cannot allow two exams in one year. It's against tradition. And even if she's a great medic, her other fields could be lacking." The bald man haughtily replied.

"Are you calling Tsunade-sama a lair old man? If wisdom can be counted by the hairs on your head, then I'd say you'd be lacking some along with other things." Sakura retorted, her voice no longer holding any farces of emotions. She had, had enough of this small chat. They should, and would listen to their leader, their master, lest she be forced to force them to cooperate.

"A liar? Why of course not. I'm just saying that it's impossible for one such as you to have so much power. I mean, look at you. Your diminutive for your age, hair is pink, and you don't even dress like a normal shinobi." The bald man cackled softly at the end of what he thought he said was common sense.

"You just contradicted yourself. You know, for someone in such a high status one would expect their IQ and decision making skills at the very least five times higher then yours. Pity, I guess integrity has really stooped so low. Tsunade I wish to take my leave. The ramblings of fools does not suite me. I'd rather not waste precious time for training and saving lives." Sakura stated, her blank eyes boring right through the bald man.

"Of course Sakura. I will alert you of the outcome." Tsunade nodded, slightly jealous of Sakura being able to take her leave.

"And for the record, size is of no consequence when it comes to shinobi, if anything it can help them dodge and remain undetected in certain circumstances. And if you think I'm small then I suggest you poke your head outside your window and look at the world as it is today. I'm about average in height, you on the other hand seem to be lacking seeing as you need to have an extension on your chair's legs. Furthermore pink is my natural hair color and can be very useful in certain circumstance that I am not at liberty to inform you about. And last, a shinobi must be able to fight in all attire whether it be none at all the most restricting skirts or kimonos. You know nothing about me, this village, or this country." Sakura called out from the corridor just before she ascended the stairs.

To say that Sakura's mini tirade was sobering for the council and its advisors was barely giving it credit.

"Call her back in Tsunade." The bald man spoke softly, admiration in his eyes.

"No need, I wasn't really going." A monotone voice broke from the ajar door. Sakura stalked in, stiffly shutting the door behind her with a dull thud, her demeanor gave no indication of the recent events.

"You have passed our test, and now you must pass Tsunade's. Unfortunately we cannot allow you to take exams until the allotted six months are up for other teams, however you will be permitted to rejoin Team 7, take on missions and then enter in the exams when they come with your team. Still, there is the matter of your evaluation. We must verify you haven't gotten weaker in the past 7 years, though I believe it's highly unlikely, 7 years is a long time and we must do this as a precaution." The bald man admitted gravely. In truth he rather liked the girl, she had stuck up for the Hokage against the council, which is saying more then what the majority of the people in the room would do.

"Of course, I understand. Tsunade-sama, is there any special specifications that you wish to test my abilities in?" Sakura voiced her inquires aloud, knowing they could prove crucial. Tsunade stood still, her hand resting on her chin and her pointer finger dinging into her forehead, contemplating on the best method that would please both the council and herself. The council was tricky to deal with. There were the handful of members that supported her and her decisions fully and those that were radicals, wanting to do away with the Hokage's power, striping of them of their respect and title and taking it for themselves. There was one thing that appeased everyone however, no matter what stance or view they took: power.

Tsunade herself had wanted to observe Sakura's techniques and how she had implemented her previous lessons with her current chakra control. There were several possible solutions for the quandary, however the majority of them had to be eliminated due to the nature of the actual situation. Genin would be too low to estimate her current skill and potential, Jounin would be optimal since it would leave the council wondering but not freaked out at her power if she did manage, however there was a slight obstacle due to the fact that all of the current teams of jounins where away on missions. She had thought about ANBU, but there was a chance that Sakura would prove more then enough for them, and though being a display of great power, the majority of the council was corrupt and would want to control her for both political power and power on the battlefield. And even the more moral and ethical members of the council, though few and far between, would cry out for restraints on her ability and liberty, wanting to cage her like a bird that already had its wings clipped due to the fear they held for the power she wielded.

That left only one choice: Chuunin. The more Tsunade thought about it the more the idea came to her liking. Before she left Sakura was at the chuunin level, and they wanted to test if she regressed not if she progressed. Also, Sakura's friends were all on chuunin teams, albeit some were jounin, and even that proved a benefit as it would slightly beg to differ the opinion on her supposed weakness. However, there was a darker, more sinister reason for this. Tsunade had to know where Sakura alliances lay, fighting friends could be hard for her, especially after seven years. She had to maintain at least a semi-level head in order to win. It was proven necessary as of late to be on the watch for betrayals; even from those you trusted most.

"You will fight the Rookie Nine that are available today beginning at 3 PM in the manner of which you deem fit. Is that clear?" Tsunade allowed Sakura some freedom by not restricting her fighting, she was quite curious on other various forms that Sakura might have picked up in her extended absence.

"Very. If that is all may I take my leave? I wish to start on constructing my dwelling in the meadow about a mile out from the tower, if that is available and acceptable of course." Sakura humbly replied.

"Of course, would you like me to send over a construction team to aid you?" Tsunade inquired, skeptical that Sakura could build it all on her own.

"That will not be necessary, thank you for the offer however." Sakura stiffly bowed and left, not wanting any more un-needed questions prying into what was meant to be secret. She could easily build the house on her own, though the additional help would be nice since she could move on to other tasks that also required attention, however she did not want anyone to know the blueprints of the layout of the house, knowing questions would be raised about specific rooms and their purpose and to deal with those pests would be bothersome.

As soon as she was out of the line of sight of any observers she quickly dissolved herself, reappearing at the clearing where she planned to build her complex. She knew that if anyone saw her, more questions would yet again be raised and suspicions would elevate, more bothersome things to deal with. Quickly she examined the grounds, noting that it was generally flat with the exception of the hill towards the west side of the meadow. It would do Sakura decided, uncaring about the wild grass and jumble of weeds and wild flowers that contaminated every square inch of the ground. It would be easy to remove such obstacles. Without warning Sakura slid her eyes shut, her body growing stiff and at the same time relaxed. She was where she always found it most comfortable, you could say she was home. Her chakra flared out, though invisible if anyone else had tried to sense her intensions as her chakra automatically recognized and mimicked the surrounding chakra patterns around her, molding them into her own. She could feel the grass swaying in the wind and brushing against her, the sunlight pouring heatedly on the flowers and the energy it gave them. No, she couldn't just feel them; she was the grass swaying and the flowers blooming.

Sakura's eyes snapped open, glowing faintly with a silver tint making her look ethereal and enhancing her beauty tenfold. Then silent screams pierced the air, inaudible but through her ears or the surrounding plant life, as the pants withered and died, crumbling to ash and hardening into various stones in a matter of seconds which then bonded seamlessly into one solitary stone. It should have taken thousands of years, if not longer, for the process to occur naturally but with the aid of chakra it was almost instantaneous. However, there was a price. For every life taken, for every mutation or change that was instigated, whether finished or not, there was an equivalent price to pay in the currency of pain. She had always found it interesting, in a rather morbid way, how she could always help others, ease away their suffering whether it be physical or emotional, and yet never cease her own. Then again, she often pondered the quandary on whether she wanted to or not. Her master, before his unforeseen demise, often mentioned on her existence as a disaster and meaningless, serving only as a recipient of pain and misery.

If this was indeed true then without pain, she lived an even more meaningless life then the one she currently led, and if it wasn't… well, truth be told she didn't really know. She was not meant to create her own opinions or feelings on a subject, merely calculate the most logically precise outcome and to be the harbinger of death towards her master's enemies, she knew nothing else, there was nothing else. Her whole existence was based around the fundamental statute of obedience and suffering. If her previous master had lied about it, and he had a habit of lying or telling half truths though Sakura still firmly refused it to be possible for him to lie about something so important, then she would have to start from scratch, and it was something she had not experienced, adapted to, yet. And she did not want to. She was content with the life she led currently; it was almost constant, with the exception of the occasional prying associate, but those incidents where easily cleaned up. Accidents happen after all.

'Keep your mind on your task.' Sakura mentally berated herself, snapping out of her reverie as the groaning of wood from nearby trees resonated throughout the clearing. Much more slowly then with the stone, the trees lifted their roots and crawled over to where the designated area for her complex was to be. Concentrating, she singled out certain chakra molecules, duplicating them and accelerating the trees growth until they had grown to an almost unprecedented size. Leaves morphed into the bark of the tree as she used her chakra to change the genetic code to resemble that of the bark. With the transformation complete she decided to cut of their silent screams and with a deafening snap to only her ears the trees died, their chakra changing from that of the living to the dead. Yes, the dead had chakra. It was more sinister and darker then that of the living, yet harmless. It was surprisingly powerful and resilient as well, though it lacked commands and so it simple sat there, unmoving and unused to the point where it was barely noticeable.

But she could sense it, and she would use it to its full potential. It was crucial to never waste a resource, no matter how diminutive it was. Gaining a mental grasp on the dead chakra ions she forced them to the edges of the dead trees' bark, forcing them to bend the wood straight and compress it until it was harder then steel and impenetrable by insects and Mother Nature. Snapping out of her daze and into the real world, she ran her hand over the smooth texture of the wood, observing its qualities and pondering whether or not she should enhance it. It was flawlessly smooth, like glass. It would prove difficult to escalate without chakra, and with or without chakra she would detect an intruder instantly. By compressing it she had reinforced the once soft wood, making it harder then steel and consequentially it was now impervious to the elementals and to any pests. 'It will do.' Sakura finally concluded, though she still wanted to change the color.

Sakura gently placed her palm onto the cool, seamless wood, pulsing her chakra ions out once more through it. Within moments shingles jutted out on the roof and the wood mimicked that of a handmade house, dips and crevices marring the prior perfection, though it was still unchanged on the inside. Not wanting to choose anything too flashy to attract attention she chose to have the chakra ions mimic the reflective qualities of a white object, resulting in the house now 'painted' white. Sakura hastily scanned the newly built accommodations, content with her work. There were two floors visible, both with five rooms to a floor. They were what held the more normal rooms that you would expect to see in a house: the kitchen, the living, the bathrooms ad infinitum. However, once you entered the subsurface levels of the house it drastically changed. Wood was no longer of any value so rough stone replaced it; crudely creating large caverns of darkness that held various mysterious objects of whose origins and purposes must still remain unknown.

'Time to activate the lock mechanism and congregate at the old training grounds for my exams.' Sakura finally pushed herself from the wall, throwing quick glances at the shadows of various objects. Remotely turning on the houses defense system, which was quite intricate and deadly if you were an imposter, she strolled on down the unseen path to the village that was hustling and bustling in the midday heat, the images of the buildings blurred in some places to which they almost seemed an mirage. Sometimes she wondered if that was all life really was.

* * *

Golden rays of light filtered in through the many glass windows of Konoha's most prestigious flower shops, gilding specs of dust with gold and bronze as they languidly floated through the stuffy room. A rather loud groan shattered the continuum of the minute tinkling of water issuing from a garden hose that kept the plants watered through a rather sophisticated system. _I'll have to thank Shikamuru for that._ The merchant at the front counter idly thought to herself, trying desperately to ignore the heat and the icky feeling of the room. The heat was bad enough, but since she found herself alone due to a coffee break her fellow coworker, no subordinate, had decided to abruptly take, Ino Yamanki was forced to endure not only the heat but the recently added humidity as well.

Usually the room would be consistently aired by a collection of fans, cooling systems and crafty sensors, however it was only able to be set to one gauge so after watering the plants in addition to the constant stream of water to make sure that the plants didn't wilt or because malnourished the room's humidity hastily escalated from a rather nice cool and mildly humid rainforest-beach area into a full blown crowded faire, at midday area. To say that she was uncomfortable was an understatement. Another groan issued from Ino's lips as her head slammed against her arms that rested intertwined on the front desk. Ino had been uncharacteristically decided to be congenial that day and had let her employee go on an extra coffee break. He had been putting in extra hours for numerous sick workers after all. Of course, he did ask only after he finished watering all the plants extensively. _I swear, he's putting me up or something._ Ino, however, quickly pushed such thoughts aside. He was a good employee, nothing on his record.

Then again, this was his first job.

_What's taking him so damn long?_ Ino thought, frustrated with her predicament. She couldn't exactly leave the public-accessible annex of the shop unattended, but she was already dying for a reprieve. _Think about something else… think about something else…_ Ino hurriedly commanded herself, scrabbling for an issue that would last at least a little while.

It was rather fishy that the majority of her employees had suddenly come down with allergies, just a few weeks prior to the festival initiating autumn, which was the optimal time to look for dates. _Good going. _Ino mentally patted herself on the back for finding a suitable subject before discussing it with herself again. In fact, she had recently, just that morning actually, paid a visit to the hospital. As it turns out only one of the six employees on sick leave had checked in for a recommendation and a prescription. What a coincidence.

Of course, it was irresistible to pay Hinata a visit and at the time she would be just arriving and probably wouldn't have any pressing issues to deal with. Ino's gaze softened, her facial expressions relaxing until it almost looked peaceful. Hinata had trained extremely hard to get into the medic squad and pass the hospital exam, and after that she surprised everyone by passing the ANBU as well. It was unexpected to say the least, to learn that Hinata passed the ANBU exam with flying colors, however it had taken a toll on the sweet woman. She was more reserved and though it did stop her stuttering, Ino almost wish it hadn't. Ino had, had a sleep over, a girls night out with the remaining kuonichi of the Rookie Nine about a week after Hinata's first mission. She was a little hesitant to go, but with some persuasion and a little blackmail having to deal with a certain blonde chuunin who wanted to be Hokage more then anything, other then eating ramen of course, Hinata agreed to come along.

"_Ino… please. I'm tired okay?" Hinata pleaded in vain._

"_Hinata," Ino dragged the last 'a' of her name in frustration. "It's been a week since your last mission. Come on!" Ino begged Hinata for what seemed the hundredth time that day. Suddenly Ino got an idea. She didn't usually resort to blackmail but… "If you don't come a certain blonde might get a few hints of someone who has a crush on him." Ino wickedly snickered._

"_Fine. I'll go!" Hinata finally growled out, surprising Ino. Hinata was usually more… shy and demure, stuttering and never raising her voice, much less growling. However, Ino merely pushed such thoughts aside, thinking that they were merely a consequence of her teasing._

"_Great! You do know that I was just kidding about telling Naruto. I'd never do that really." Ino apologized in her own way, comforting Hinata's fears._

"_Yeah, I know. Thanks Ino. S-since…" Hinata's willpower slightly faltered, her stuttering resurfacing. "Since Sakura left you've always been there for me." Hinata's eyes grew weary at the mention of Sakura, as did Ino's. _

"_Yeah. I know. Without you and Tenten I don't think I would have made it through it." Ino whispered softly, as if afraid to bring back the pain. _

"Sakura…" Ino had completely forgotten about the humidity of the room, too lost in memories and pain.

_A scream tore through the still night, jerking Ino awake. Cursing lividly Ino's head shot around to find the source. Muffled sobs came from the shaking figure in the corner of the room near the window. _Hinata. _Ino thought in worry. Stumbling as quietly as she could she did her best to reach Hinata unharmed. _

"_Ow!" Ino breathed out as she stubbed her toe on the sleeping form of Tenten. It was quite amazing that she was still asleep._

"_I-Ino?" The trembling, shy voice of Hinata rang out._

"_Yeah. What's wrong?" Ino finally reached Hinata, holding her in her arms to comfort her like a mother would to her child._

"_It's nothing…" Hinata finally muttered out after a few moments of silence._

"_Hinata, it can't be nothing if it's got you this worked up. You can tell me. I'm your friend. I promise I won't tell anyone without your consent." Ino whispered to Hinata, not wanting to awake Tenten, which was highly unlikely, who turned over in her sleep muttering something about Neji. Hinata gave a small smile at the murmur; she had known Tenten had harbored a crush for her cousin for quite a while. "Hinata?" Ino's voice broke Hinata out of here reverie._

"_Promise not to laugh at me, or think me weak?" Hinata pleaded desperately._

"_Why would I ever laugh at you? Or think you weak?" Ino asked, her voice raising in concern._

"_Well… you see…," Hinata paused, mustering up the determination to let it out. "My first assassination mission… last week… I had to get close to the target."_

"_Oh my god Hinata! Are you all right? Did he touch you?" Ino clutched Hinata's arms fervently in fear._

"_He didn't… deflower me… but… he … he touched me Ino he touched me!" Hinata sobbed into Ino's chest. "I thought I knew what I was getting into Ino! I thought I knew! I thought I could handle the missions, I thought I could be strong!" Hinata pounded her fists into Ino's chests, much to Ino's dismay._

"_Hinata you are strong."_

"_B-but… I let him! And after… I still could barely muster up the guts to slice the man's throat! Naruto will never even want to look at me when he finds out!" Hinata's wails escalated. Ino could do nothing but hold Hinata and listen. "I thought I was ready to shed blood, that I was strong enough to withstand it! I was wrong. So wrong Ino! I can't…I just – " _

"_No. You listen to me Hinata. You are strong. Killing… killing is hard and something that only the demented can really enjoy. As for him touching you, you did what you had to. And I'm sure Naruto will understand, if anything he'll try to sympathize with you and want to resurrect the bastard to kill him again." Ino chuckled dryly at her own joke. _

"_R-really? You think so?" Hinata's pearly eyes gazed up at Ino with hope._

"_I don't think so. I know so." Ino reassured Hinata, patting her on the back._

"Sakura… what have you done?" Ino murmured out, tears falling from overflowing eyes and dotting the desk. Ino knew the reason Hinata had trained to become ANBU, and it wasn't just to become stronger and gain recognition. She wanted to save Sakura, they all did. They wanted to go out and find her, bring her back and save her from herself. In the end, they all had become a little less hopeful; part of each of them tore, never to really be put back together again. Not without her return.

Ino had been so elated about the mission of Sakura's return that she nearly cried with joy. At first it seemed all like a dream, it had to be. There was no way that seven years after she left Tsunade would send out ANBU to search for her when she didn't even send out one scout right after the news of her departure. Then Sakura walked in the door, as if the past seven years had been erased and she knew nothing of them. It had to be a dream. Ino had barely refrained from pinching herself then and there, but she was paralyzed by shock. Her first thought was to hug Sakura to death, then to bash her in the head for being so stupid for leaving and not even sending a letter.

She had expected Sakura to smile and hug them all back, cry a little with joy and tell them wonderful stories of her adventures. But what she got in return was not what she expected. Sakura had merely sidestepped, looking down upon them as if they meant nothing to her. Ino felt her heart crack then. Sakura was so lifeless, so pale and fragile and so devoid of any remnants of her original self. She didn't know this Sakura. But she would fight. She would break through whatever walls Sakura had erected during her absence and tare them all down, obliterate them. She would bring the old Sakura out and maybe, just maybe they would all be friends, no family, again.

"Yamanki-san! I'm sorry I took so long! My sister – Yamanki-san, are you alright?" A young man, about Ino's age, skidded to a stop before the counter, concern flooding his eyes at her disheveled state. He was quite cute; his figure was lean and gaunt, yet perfect. She was sure if elves lived he would be one, just needed to add the pointed ears. Obsidian locks framed his face, which held twinkling midnight orbs. He was beautiful, but Ino couldn't let him know that. He was her employee after all. It would be improper, even if she did have a slightly larger then normal crush on him, and the majority of it wasn't just because of his looks.

"Hn? Oh. Yes, I'm fine. Thank you." Ino sniffled, trying to restrain the tears and wiping the existing ones away with her arm.

"Are you sure Yamanki-san?" He asked again, incredulous that she would cry over nothing.

"I'm fine, really." Ino gave a sad smile, which only had him more concerned. "I'm sorry you had to see me in this state Hoshi-san."

"It isn't your fault Yamanki-san. Please though, call me Higure." Higure gazed softly at Ino. He knew she was lying, but he didn't want to push her too far. He had made so much progress already with their friendship. But he wanted more. He was just afraid she would reject him. He always would overhear her talking about Shikamuru or Choji. Sure they were on her team, but that couldn't stop him from feeling jealous. Still, he was determined to ask her out for the festival, given the right opportunity that is. However, all that he really had on his mind now was her smile. It was a true smile and her, one that he could only smile back to. And it was directed fully at him now, her eyes shining happily and winking at him slightly. She was gorgeous.

"Very well then Higure-san. Thank you, though, for being concerned." Ino's voice dropped, she really was thankful; for him, for her friends, for her family. _Ask him to go the festival with you!_ Ino's inner suddenly screech to life inside her._ What? I can't! I mean he'd – Just do it already!_ Ino sighed mentally and a small blush adorned her cheeks as she prepared herself, Higure gazing with curiosity at her blush. He found it rather cute actually. "Higure-san, would you…" Ino stopped, mouth hanging open and moving, though no sound was coming out. She was so nervous. _Should I really ask him?_ Ino hesitated. _Do it already!_ Her inner screamed at her from inside. "Would you..." Ino started again, swallowing saliva to moisten her suddenly dry mouth.

Higure's heart pounded against his chest, _Is she… trying to…_.

"Yamanki-san you have been summoned by Tsunade-dono to the training grounds by the east field. Please proceed to the location immediately." The steely voice of an ANBU interrupted them abruptly. Without another word the ANBU vanished in a poof of gray smoke. _So much for asking him now,_ Ino thought dejectedly to herself. _Maybe later._

"Well… I guess I better get going then. I'll be back when it's over, alright?" Ino finally breached the silent tension between them.

"Alright Ino-san." Higure tried his best to sound normal, he was dying to know what she was going to ask.

"Don't break anything either! And don't over-water the plants! And-" Ino was interrupted by a hearty chuckle from Higure.

"I know, I know Ino. I've been doing this for the past three months now haven't I?" Higure teased her, his eyes twinkling even more so leaving Ino breathless. Ino had to leave now, if she ever wanted to leave. Which she really didn't.

"Sorry Higure, habit. I'll be back! Don't leave without me!" Ino waved as she walked out the front door into the street, then vanishing. Higure grinned widely, like a child getting Christmas presents. She called him Higure, no san or any other suffix. He was definitely making progress. _I'll ask her out when she returns._ He finally decided mentally, as he picked up handheld shears and began to trim the roses.

* * *

Ino's gaze grew constantly more worried with every jump that pushed her nearer to her destination. She was positive that Sakura was the reason for this untimely meeting, and the odd location, but such thoughts held little significance to her at the moment. All that really mattered was the she would show Sakura that she had grown strong and that she still had a friend in her. She didn't give a damn about Sakura's walls. She would tare them all down and bring back the old Sakura. Nothing would stand in her way. Yet some part of her, a little voice kept nagging at the back of her mind, chanting over and over three words that haunted her. _You're in denial._ She would prove those words wrong. She had to. Or else she feared she go insane.

* * *

**Translations:**

**Higure - twilight (When I looked it up there were many different words that meant twilight so I chose the shortest one.)**

**Hoshi - star**

**Dear Readers,**

**Ah!! I'm sorry for not updating for a bit! I had finals and well those took up most of my time. And last week I was mainly in bed feeling like a pile of crap so I didn't get to write much. :(. But I'm okay now, so hopefully I'll be able to update faster, as long as no unforeseen hinderances come along. I wanted to break off from just Sakura's point of view, well kind of her point of view. I hope it worked out well. And I hope you understood the whole chakra thing. I thought the whole 'Sakura making her own house' was interesting, confusing and boring. Which is confusing me to no end. (Does that mean it's just confusing? O.o) Anyways, tell me what you think! Read and review and please, ask any questions you want! I'll try to answer them as best I can! I still haven't thought up the ages, but when Sakura left it was a couple years past Sasuke's departure if that's a good indicator.**

**Ja ne!**

**Kitty K.**


	5. Chapter 4: Checkmate

**Disclaimer: Okay, sighs though I know you all know this: I don't own Naruto! (Well at least the disclaimer can be checked off my list...)**

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Chapter 4: Checkmate

The sweltering heat of the baking sun had not gone by the time they had all arrived at the old training grounds. Sweat accumulated on all their skins, except for Sakura's it seemed. Still clad in her heavy black attire it would seem logical that she would be overheating and in need of medical attention due to the period of time she had been out in the heat. Quite on the contrary, she acted indifferent to the heat on a whole different level that Neji had ever seen. It wasn't that she ignored it or wasn't bothered by it. No, she acted as if she couldn't feel it and it disturbed him then anything. _Her body should react automatically at least._ Neji deducted but failed to even see the smallest hint of salty moisture on her face, which was the only visible patch of skin other then her hands, which were for the most part covered in fingerless gloves that almost constantly hid themselves in the shadows of her trench coat.

So much was out of the ordinary with her, so many contradicting pieces of information that he barely knew which was up or down with her. She had done nothing to unnerve him and yet, at the same time he could not stop feeling uneasy around her. She acted almost like a doll or a servant, or some mechanized unit that stayed motionless, waiting; forever patient for her next command. It sent chills down his spine just to hear her voice and to look in her eyes now. They were dead, lifeless. He had often heard that the eyes are the portals to the soul; that eyes cannot lie. Neji's heart clenched with fear for his friend. If that was indeed true, then it could very well be that she had no soul.

And if that was true, then she could no longer feel; she was indeed merely an organism that only served others and knew not its own self. But when Neji had thought he was finally beginning to latch onto in horror what he thought was the new Sakura she contradicted him yet again. She spoke against Tsunade. Maybe against wasn't the best description. It was more like giving evidence to disprove a theory and help improve an existing one. It wasn't exactly an opinion but it was a small hope that she hadn't completely lost herself on her journey.

Still, it only consoled him in the least bit. The person standing beside him and offering her body as a shield to the scorching rays, as Tsunade deemed it unnecessary to stand in the shade for one reason or, was not even close to the person he had become such close friends with before her absence. _I wonder what happened to make her change…_ Neji pondered idly, forcing himself not to panic and not to draw any obscene conclusions. He knew for fact it couldn't possibly be Sasuke's departure. It might have aided in the metamorphosis, but it wasn't the real instigator. He also knew that Danzou's untimely assassination was not truly the cause as many people gossiped, though it too may have helped.

For one reason or another, she refused to tell him at the time though promised that he would find out sooner or later, she acted almost reluctant to call him her foster father. It was almost as if she detested the fact that she had an relation to him, even though he was generous enough to pay for her tuition to the academy, rent for her apartment and just about anything else she might have wanted. It amazed him to no end how she could fool people into believing that she led a happy existence in the past. So many people believed her parents were wealthy landowners that almost constantly were on the move to different places, but were kind enough to let their child stay in an area to make friends and grow up on its own, but in reality only doing so to remove a hindrance to them. Regretfully, Neji almost wished that, that was true. He could easily remember the way she forced all emotion to be ridden of her features when she spoke about them.

_"Aren't the stars beautiful Neji-kun?" Sakura smiled wistfully at the clear night sky in wonder, plopping down on her back on the field. _

_"Hai Sakura-san." Neji replied stoically as ever, though Sakura knew it was out of habit._

_"I told you to just call me Sakura, remember?" Sakura teased, giggling at Neji's apologetic features. It was so odd to see him expressing emotions when he was so… so dead in public. _No wonder why Tenten isn't sure._ Sakura laughed slightly louder, Neji raising an eyebrow in return to which she merely waved off for a later explanation. "Did you tell her yet?" Sakura asked on a more serious note. Neji had been praying fervently that she wouldn't ask, that somehow, miraculously, she would have forgotten. He should have known she was not one to easily forget things._

_"Well…" Neji hesitated, not wanting her to screech in his ears at his reluctance._

_"Well…" Sakura beckoned him to continue with her hands._

_"No." Silence reigned over the next few moments; somehow the crickets' chirpings were louder then a peal of thunder. _

_"NO? Neji you said you would tell her today!" Sakura glared at Neji in utter frustration. She had been trying to get him to admit his feelings for Tenten to her face for the past few weeks. She had, had enough. "That's it if you don't tell her tomorrow, I will!" Sakura challenged him, much to his dismay. _

_"Alright, alright… I'll tell her." Neji sat down grumpily beside Sakura, running his hands through his hair to calm his nerves. "Can we talk about… something else for a while?" Neji asked, uncomfortable with the current topic. Discussing his emotions had always been a taboo thing for him._

_"Hm… how's the clan doing?" Sakura finally inquired absentmindedly, intent on finding her favorite constellation. _

_"The usual. They want to remove Hinata as heiress and put me in her stead, however they need my approval and its something that I'm not going to give." Neji murmured out. He hated the clan and their system of do's and don'ts. It was so restricting and he constantly felt like he was a caged bird being poked at with a sharp stick. _

_"Aa." Sakura replied, glad that Neji had stuck up for his cousin. She would make a good head for the clan, wise and fair. _She's stronger then they know. _Sakura added mentally. _

_"You know, you never mentioned your family before. What are your parents like? I heard that they are wealthy landowners that travel the country staying at various mansions they have scattered throughout the world." Neji asked, curious as to know a little about Sakura's relatives. He immediately regretted asking, instantly recognizing he had struck a nerve as she froze and her gaze on the night sky grew cold and hard._

_"They are not wealthy landowners, that is plain gossip." Sakura finally uttered out, her voice though holding no emotion was not biting, much to Neji's gratitude._

_"What are they then?" Neji asked when she seemed like it was okay for the conversation to continue._

_"Dead." Sakura murmured. Neji's eyes flew straight to her, wide with shock. How could he not have known? _She's so… so happy all the time; always smiling and laughing. _Neji was astounded by her ability to fool the people who thought they knew her._

_"H-how?" Neji cursed silently for starting to stutter like Hinata, it was not like him to do such an unsure act. To his dismay she stiffened more. Neji watched in panic and horror as her features forcefully went blank. He doubted even Sasuke Uchiha could have managed to look so devoid of emotion._

_"They were… assassinated in front of me when I was four." Sakura said with such finality that he wondered if she really even cared. _Of course she cares you baka! Otherwise she wouldn't have forced herself to be so heartless! _Neji's inner consoled his blasphemous thoughts. Of course she cared, how could she not. She may fool others with her happiness but not with her dispassionate façade_. _After all, if she could fool people to the point where she acted so detached from her emotions, the one part that burnt so hot inside her, then her whole life, as he, and all the rest of her friends knew about her, was all a lie. That was impossible._

Neji gave a saddened smile at the memory. He had never gotten the opportunity to tell Tenten his feelings as the village went up into chaos as Danzou was assassinated the next day and with nightfall Sakura had fled the village, never to be seen or heard from since until now.

* * *

Sakura stood perpetually still, almost like a statue, despite the heat of the day. She could tell it unnerved them at her ability to adapt to readily to the environment, despite her attire. _Get used to it. It's what I was made for._ Sakura bit back on a sharp remark, knowing it would strike up an unscheduled brawl due to the tension in the air. Not that she would have cared. Quite on the contrary, she could tell her body was itching for something that would get it to move, become active once more but she ignored its pleas, finally ceasing when it grew too tired to protest.

"Ah Ino! Welcome, I do hope you brought your shinobi gear?" Shizune greeted Ino. The desperate look in here eyes did not go unnoticed by Ino and the others, seeing as now Shizune could take a slight reprieve from the heat into the slightly cooler shade of the surrounding woods as she watched and evaluated the exams, that is if Ino had brought her weapons.

"Of course, I almost always wear them." Ino answered readily, much to Shizune's appreciation; Ino had been expecting something like this to occur if Sakura was granted clemency. Sakura however was paying little attention to the conversation, opting to concentrate on the additional chakra sources that had recently arrived in the northwest area of the woods; she could always simply look back into her mind if she needed to. It always stored all the information, even if she wasn't concentrating on it or ignoring it, which had become very useful in certain situations, though she rarely used the ability anymore, and it had become more of an annoyance.

_So they did come. Interesting. I did not expect them to come, but it serves little significance anyways._ According to Sakura's predictions there had been 65.9 chance of council members being present, 72.4 with Tsunade's goading which had probably instigated their rather tardy coming. She had already identified the members present; most of them were corrupt and power seeking. In truth the only exception was the bald-man from before. _She should not have brought them here. They are merely now another hindrance for both future and present._ Sakura's gaze remained impassive, though she was still slightly disappointed in her new master's decisions. Disappointed wasn't the exact definition of the feeling, for she really didn't feel anything, so neither could she call it annoying. _Bothersome._ She finally settled on.

"Okay, listen up!" Shizune roared to life, eager to get to the more welcoming shade of the leafy green trees. All eyes turned to her, albeit some little more slowly then others. "Rookie Nine! Your mission is as follows! You will fight Sakura Haruno in a match, at once for her abilities to be evaluated." Shizune's eyes glittered dangerously, daring anyone to speak against Tsunade's decision. She _really_ didn't want to stand in the sun for much longer.

"Hai!" They all answered back, true to their village, though at the moment more afraid of what might happen if they uttered anything else.

"Datte…" Unfortunately for Shizune, Naruto, being his usual idiotic self was also being a tad unobservant to Shizune's current state due to the heat, though some would argue that there was only air in his head to begin with, and had a small inquiry. A rather large, and intimidating vein popped to life on Shizune's forehead that put the Hyuga's to shame.

"What?" Shizune gritted out, not wanting to get into trouble by Tsunade for disturbing the peace. _The peace is going to be disturbed in a matter of seconds anyways!_ Shizune's inner cried and began a rampage in Shizune's head, much to her dismay.

"Well, are you saying that all of us are fighting Sakura at once?" Naruto's voice quivered, he knew the risks of asking a question quite well when Shizune was more then slightly irritated, but he was too worried to care.

"Of course baka!" Shizune half-yelled in exasperation, Sakura merely raised an eyebrow at Shizune's uncontrolled demeanor. _She should control her emotions more, and not let them control her at the very least. For letting one do so is meaning to let yourself become no more then an animal._ Sakura once more refrained from mouthing her self instructed statutes, knowing that they would fall to deaf ears, angry accusations and misled theories.

"But isn't that a bit much?" Naruto gasped out in concern for Sakura's well being. A frown marred Sakura's emotionally stale face, her eyes glinting with some unknown emotion for a split second before they died down. The frown remained however.

"Naruto. Are you describing me as weak? Or am I simply delving too deep into hidden meanings that are just my imagination?" Sakura's tone of voice had not changed with her facial expression, but still, her simple words that should have held no real threat or aggression increased the tension in the already humid air. Naruto gulped audibly. Sakura was scarier now, emotionless, then when she had been raving and waving her fist around seemingly almost constantly.

"Nani?" Naruto's voice was hoarse from terror, though he didn't know why. He shouldn't really be afraid. She didn't look too strong, nor did she implicate any real threats that were true causes for concern. But no matter how hard he tried to calm himself he could feel every cell in his body squirm in discomfort at her presence in the current state. Even the kyuubi was unsettled, faint murmurings of intangible words whispering through his ears almost unceasingly. "Sakura, I'm not saying that you're weak." Naruto began cautiously, having the acute sensation that he was treading on very thin ice over a very cold and deep lake. Finding out what was in the water, or even feeling the water was something that wasn't on his to do list. "It's just that it seems unfair and almost impossible. I mean, even we could probably take on Tsunade-dono if we wanted to!" Naruto exclaimed, desperate to get his point across, even going as far as calling Tsunade by a rather respective title.

"My apologizes for my misjudgment." Sakura's frown dissipated, her face once more blank, at her monotonous reply. _He is wrong. Tsunade-dono would have obliterated them easily if she wanted to, if not I would have been there to step in._ Naruto calmed and opened his mouth to speak once more. However before he could utter any sound Sakura cut him off, already knowing what his next words would be. "I will, however, not back down from this test nor take it in any diluted form. I will fight all of you at once, and you are to not withhold your power from me. Fight me as if I were your enemy. Fight as if you wanted to kill me." Naruto's mouth hung ajar and Shizune was rather taken aback by her strong words, as were the others. "Am I understood?" Sakura's forced her voice to grow soft, but sharp intending to get her point across. Silence was her only reply. "Am I understood?" Sakura raised her voice slightly, forcing it to harden with an edge that would make them agree, if involuntarily at that.

"H-Hai!" A chorus of positive responses resounded throughout the clearing.

"Well then, if you are ready?" Shizune gazed guardedly at Sakura, not wishing to be on the receiving end of one of her inquiries. A slight nod was the only answer she got in return, but it was enough. "Very well, begin!" Shizune quickly jumped out of the clearing and into the refuge of the trees. Being in the middle of that confrontation was something that set her stomach churning.

Tsunade, busy discussing several military and political issues with the council members, had missed the events in the clearing.

"Well, we'll continue this later shall we? I want to see how Sakura does." Tsunade smiled slyly at the council members, she already knew that Sakura would pass with flying colors; she just wanted to see how. "Shizune, why are you so pale? Did something happen?" Tsunade lips curved downward at the sight of Shizune's pallor.

"Nothing Tsunade-dono, just the heat is all. I'm fine now." Shizune muttered out, not wanting to set the council off ease. Fear was something they liked to control and wield, not feel. Shizune's gut twisted at the thought of them in terror of Sakura. _Their first action would be to eliminate her._ Shizune hid a shudder and forced herself to be attentive to the ongoing examination. No, the council could not find out in the least. Disruption of the balance between the Hokage and the council now that had been so hard to set up could, no would, be fatal.

* * *

The atmosphere surrounding the clearing had changed in an instant; she could feel it, they could feel, everything living in the clearing could feel the building tension in the air. But unlike before it was not a burdening tension that pulled one down until they lay crushed and unable to move, unable to bear it any further. No, it was a tension that was the rope that was bound so tight against its victim, holding it still through its struggles. The tension that would soon break and release the upcoming storm; release her storm; free her.

"_The calm always comes before the storm. It is a part of the battle, a part of the storm, a part of the chaos. But do not trust it; do not trust your feelings. Trust what logic tells you and you shall not fail, you shall not fall. Do this and you may yet become useful."_

_Shishou…_ The words of Sakura's former master from when she was merely the age of four resounded throughout her head as she let her eyes fall shut. Burning hatred and loathing built up slightly within before she put in check and regained control, soothing it down until it dissipated fully. Hatred. The one emotion that should could feel, and only during certain instances regarding her former master. She had hated that man so much… yet her whole life depended on him. He had given her meaning, a purpose and she… she had shattered it. Made a flaw in the image of perfection. She had tried so hard to erase it, to cover it up, but still it grew and grew until she could no longer even look at herself.

…_I will not fail you, not even when you lie as cold as the ground…_

"The fight has started and yet a weapon is has not yet been drawn." Sakura's voice held no emotion, as before, but even then it was different, just ever so slightly. There was no mercy, no faint kindness or trace of individuality in it as there was before. It was the voice of death that rang from the utmost corners of the deep and resounded from the heavens, quelling everything in its path with a raging fire that burnt colder then the winters in the Land of Snow and Ice.

…_I will do my best to appease you, Shishou. …_

"Sakura-chan…" Naruto murmured out, his eyes dilating in immeasurable fear. He couldn't believe that this was his old friend. "What happened to you Sakura?" Naruto whispered out.

"Battle is not the time for prattle or meaningless inquiries Uzumaki-san. It is the time for action. If you do not draw your weapon and initiate the fight, I will do so myself. Do not pity me, thinking the odds uneven in your favor." Sakura informed him sternly. She was not afraid to draw blood or steal life. It was what her former master had trained her so hard for.

… _I will become perfection, just like you wished, and I will stop anyone in my path. …_

"Sakura… chan." Naruto was left speechless and the only visible player on the field of battle; in other words the most vulnerable. _Fool! Move or you will be killed!_ The kyuubi howled to life within his head, shattering his dazed and foolish state and bringing him into the world of reality. And with it he brought anger. How dare she. She was not Sakura Haruno, the Sakura Haruno he knew would smile and laugh and… and not call him by his last name. "Sakura." Naruto growled out, the kyuubi's malicious orange chakra swirling to life around his now crouched form.

"Hai?" Sakura answered, indifferent to his now furious tone of voice and body language.

"Who are you and what have you done to Sakura-chan?" Naruto screamed in fury at Sakura who stood, unmoving, before him. Her only response was the slight raise of her right eyebrow before it settled back down, but he had caught it and in it the question. _What do you mean?_

"I am Sakura Haruno, what I have done to myself is my business and my business alone."

"Not when it comes to friends!" Naruto lunged at Sakura abruptly. _Fool…_The kyuubi's voice mocked him from within at his futile attempt to capture Sakura within his grasp.

"You may be still a friend in some regards, but even friends keep secrets. Na-ru-to." Sakura mocked him, feeding off the inner turmoil of the demon and fueling it with her own, all the while gliding backwards to evade Naruto's lunges by mere centimeters. She was pushing all the right buttons, toying with him. He could feel it and it only served to piss him off more.

"I'm going to beat some sense into your head!" Naruto screamed, his fingertips evolving into claws and his canines extending to an abnormal, animalistic size.

"Just like you did Sasuke?" Sakura pushed the final button, turning on the destruction mode within Naruto. Tears welled up in Naruto's cerulean eyes, threatening to plummet to the ground. Tears of anger, of pain, of sadness… of guilt.

"S-Sakura how … how could you?" Naruto seethed. Her words had hit like a load of bricks dropped from a five-story building. Pain erupted in his heart, emotional pain. There would be no mercy for her now, not for her words. Anger consumed Naruto's body and a tail started to form in the essence of chakra from his body. "Sakura! I'm going to change you back to what you were before!" Naruto screamed in rising fury, a second tail forming rapidly along with the bulge of a third.

"Gomenasai, but that is impossible." Sakura stated, her emotionless eyes gazing down at him from a few feet in front of him.

"Don't say that! It's not impossible! I'm going to do what ever it takes!" Naruto cried out desperately, his eyes dissolving into a crimson color with a fourth tail growing.

"Even if it means killing me?" Sakura inquired dispassionately.

"Even if it means killing you!" Naruto yelled out, clawed and gnarled hands stiffly forming a ball.

Sakura knew the demon's immense power; that it could potentially wipe out the village in a blinding flash of light. She knew that the observers of the fight were all thrown in shock at Naruto's state and had well since called ANBU in to try to calm or eliminate Naruto before he unleashed such power. But she was not afraid of death. Death was a constant friend of hers, its morbid and pain stricken eyes gazing longingly at life constantly, before devouring life with its decaying, razor filled jaws. She had walked along the borders of life and death many times, but death would not claim her.

"RA-" Still, even if she could die, death was not something that she would not be experiencing today. "-SEN-" _Amazing how he can still keep his human form with four tails…_ Sakura pondered idly, ignoring Naruto as he powered up his most infamous jutsu. _The kyuubi is probably holding back some in fear. Pathetic._ "-GAN!" Naruto's scream tore through the forest and the unearthly light emanating from the tainted orange, swirling ball of chakra in his hands expanded continuously as he fed it the surrounding chakra that encased his body.

Naruto's pupils dilated at the realization at what he was about to do, but it was too late. He was already moving to fast to stop, his body a blur. He'd hit her within .001 of a second.

"Sakura!" Naruto screamed, fear clouding his eyes with grief and sadness, along with his voice. Then the clearing stilled, the wind that had whipped around so harshly ceasing abruptly. Naruto gapped at the spot in front of him where his Rasengan filled hands were occupying. Sakura wasn't there.

_…but…_

"Gomenasai Naruto, but I cannot allow you to kill me today." Sakura finally murmured, just loud enough for him to hear. Naruto's head craned to see her over his right shoulder, her body turned just enough so that her hand rested on his Rasengan. In an instant it burst into a thousand specks of orange chakra, soon after the dissipating with the residual chakra that was held in his body.

"Gomen… Sakura… I underestimated you…" Naruto mumbled out, his eyelids dropping as unconsciousness tugged fervently at them, finally consuming him in realm of dreams. _The strongest and highest threat has been eliminated. Next target based on threat to personal information._ Sakura finally assessed as she stooped to check Naruto's pulse, verifying she still had left enough chakra to keep him stable before vanishing to somewhere into the surrounding woods to find her next victim.

_…I will do so in my own way, not yours._

_Gomenasai, Shishou._

* * *

_Something isn't right._ Neji's inner voice Neji's own unease as he, stoic as ever, leaned casually against the trunk of a common oak tree, his eyes the only display of his wariness, unceasingly scanning the immediate area over and over, trying to find the flaw in the seemingly unnatural tension that only he could feel.

"So, what exactly are we going to do?" Shino finally spoke up, shattering the silence with his unnerving demeanor, which had recently seemed pale in stark contrast with Sakura's, though they all refused to admit it.

"Well obviously we'll win. I mean, come on, all of us against Sakura? She could only tie with me in the past and now, 7 years later I doubt she could even come close. I hardly think she's trained much in that 7 year period, maybe at most the level of Jounin but not ANBU." Ino declared smugly, though all of them agreed readily to it; it was just too hard to imagine their weak little cherry blossom growing up into a shinobi that killed and deceived for a living.

"We still have to knock her out at least though to end the exam, that or she knocks us out." Choji pointed out, grabbing a back of organic potato chips from a hidden side pocket, grumbling that he wished he still had his Ruffles with him, though Ino had confiscated all processed food since she, being a medic, had pointed out though he was more readily acceptable in a heavier build due to his family's jutsu, clogging his arteries and inhaling countless amounts of preservatives was something that was both unnecessary and hazardous.

"We should youthfully barrage youthful Sakura-chan and youthfully defeat her despite her most youthful attempts to hold her youthful self against our most youthful onslaught!" Lee cried out striking his "Good Guy" pose, a small ping flitting through their ears, shocking everyone. Not for the intent of his words but of how he stated them. Shikamuru merely sighed wearily in response, leaning casually against the tree behind him, much like Neji, and muttering something about how many times Lee could use the word "youthful" in one sentence along with something being a drag.

Fed up with the teams' behavior Neji decided to try to get his own plan in formation, leaping ten feet high to a solid branch that gave a clear overlook of the meadow while also keeping him concealed rather well.

"Yo Neji, watcha doing up there?" Kiba called out, resting against a sleeping Akamaru who gave a soft growl in his dreams to which Kiba gave him a comforting pat. Neji's only response was a soft glare before turning back to analyze the possible options he had. He had to admit, he was slightly aggravated by his friends flippant attitude towards Sakura's exam. It was true that he himself doubted Sakura had the capability to single handedly knock them all, but he was willing to put faith in her, just as they should, or so he thought. She was their friend, and yet they constantly looked down upon her as some lesser being behind her back, never really taken seriously. She had asked for them to be completely serious, to attack as if they even wanted to end her life and he would do his best out of respect for her. _Strength isn't always physical anyways._ Neji's inner said cryptically, though he chose to ignore and ask him about it at a later time.

_Something is not right._ Neji's inner suddenly hissed out, shuddering inside his mind. Neji sucked in a breath at what he saw happening in the meadow below him.

"Byakugan!" Neji breathed out, his gaze fixed as hard as steel on Naruto.

"What is it Neji?" Tenten asked, concerned.

"I'm not sure." Neji bluntly replied, though they all could sense the tenseness and unease in his voice that he strained to keep hidden. There had been a spike in Naruto's chakra suddenly, much like in the chuunin exams, and this time it was much more malicious. _The nine-tailed fox?_ Neji's inner questioned, though he already knew the answer. Neji gulped audibly as he realized Naruto wasn't doing it just for show to scare Sakura into ending the exam; Naruto was serious. _She's going to get killed!_ Neji screamed in panic in his mind.

"Neji, what is it?" Hinata asked cautiously, knowing that she could easily cause Neji to snap in his current state. She had never seen him so strained in order to remain calm.

"Naruto has lost control, I think it was something Sakura said. He's… growing tails." Neji finally whispered out, his throat suddenly tight making it hard to breath, let alone speak.

"What?" Hinata gasped out, hands covering her mouth in shock and tears pricking her pearly white eyes. Neji cursed silently for causing his cousin such distress, he should have known better then to tell her.

"Hinata. It's alright, I'm sure Sakura is alright, he's only at four tails at the moment." Neji did his best to console Hinata, not aware of what he just said. "Wait. Four tails?! Naruto is going to kill her with that much raw power!" Neji yelled out, fear very much evident in his voice and body language.

"It's not that," Hinata began, as if unaware of Neji's current state or Sakura's life threatening situation. It wasn't that she didn't care for Sakura, for she did, she was a friend, and she would never want her hurt. However, Naruto was a different subject. She would give anything so that he wouldn't be harmed, even it was a friend or a friendship, no matter the period of time that friendship would be lost. So on the priority list of enemies Sakura was put on the top of the list for the duration of the exam. She was the enemy and would be shown no mercy if she laid even a finger on Naruto. "It's just that-" Hinata was cut off abruptly as a flash of light illuminated the meadow, blinding Neji though he did his best to try to see if Sakura was still alive. "Naruto!" Hinata gasped in concern.

Gradually the light throbbed down, leaving black dots swimming Neji's vision, the only one who was foolish enough to leave his eyes open to the brilliant light. Blinking in rapid succession to clear his eyes the best he could, Neji squinted at the clearing, holding a faint candle of hope that Sakura might still be all right. What he saw astounded him. Sakura had just stood up, gracefully, from a crouched position over Naruto's limp body before vanishing in the blink of an eye. _She… she survived. She stopped him from casting his Rasengan… in a four-tail form. _Neji was thunderstruck, shimmying down the tree only to collapse to the ground on his knees. He didn't even have the will to stand.

"Neji, what's wrong?" Tenten was immediately by his side, soft palms brushing over his forehead and cheeks to make sure he hadn't somehow caught some sickness.

"Sakura… she…" Neji did his best to croak out, his body clammed with a new found fear.

"What did she do Neji? Is Naruto alr-" Hinata's frantic voice was cut off abruptly, her body crumpling into a messy heap of limbs on the forest floor as her eyes rolled into her head. She was unconscious by the time she hit the ground. Standing above her was their opponent in all her mysterious, chilling glory, hair gliding over her shoulders after being stirred by the small breeze that had accompanied her swift movement, and her right hand, the hand that had instantly knocked Hinata out, gradually descending to her side, almost dejectedly. Neji was once again amazed. He knew it took more power to knock someone out with empty hands, and if you applied too much power, like always, it could prove fatal. However the amount of power needed was harder to control, which was why many shinobi opted for weapons whether it be assassination missions or just protecting a political target. She was different, contradictory yet again in a sense. She bent the rules of shinobi, and yet at the same time kept them straight, never crossing the line nor going close to it.

"Well, I guess there goes our plan for getting together and making a plan. Why do women always have to be so troublesome?" Shikamuru sighed out, pushing himself off his tree with his elbow, circling Sakura as and eyeing her as if he was trying to gauge her intentions on her rather flashy entry. He had assumed something much more subtle from her, and actual attempt, not for her to appear in the midst of them as if asking them to finish the exam. "Unfortunately, this is checkmate for you Sakura-san." Shikamuru finally announced, a smirk playing across his lips. His back up plan that he had kept from the others had involved a scenario like the such; he wouldn't have to change it much for it to be of use. He had won, she had lost… and soon he could finally get back to cloud gazing and being his usual lazy self. Unfortunately, Sakura had other plans for the exams and none of them included her losing anytime soon or Shikamuru being lazy.

"Oh really?" Sakura raised an elegant eyebrow in question, ignoring the now confused faces of the remaining Rookie Nine. She knew that they all thought her idiotic for her seemingly rather rash move, and that she had no chance of winning. _She's up to something. _Neji's inner voice quivered slightly, but Neji was too stunned to even mentally respond. All he could think about was what he was seeing with his Byakugan, still active from before. Chakra was flowing through her body, which was what was normal and expected. The only probably was that he could see it, but he couldn't feel it. And the part that he could see was startling. He thought it was impossible. All the chakra he saw in the network of chakra veins in his teammates veins was chaotic, filling the vein to its maximum, and dwindling down when they calmed or where out of combat. However hers was a different story. It was… neat and orderly, following unknown rules and guidebooks so that it flowed separately, and instead of being released from the various valves , it merely split into two lanes within the veins, separated by a think line of nothingness, each side going opposite directions and never touching.

Sakura's gaze, once drifting amongst them all aimlessly was now fixated on Neji, the empty, soulless eyes staring him back directly in the eyes, conveying a message that he frightened him to the bone: _You're my next target._ Almost instantly her chakra stopped moving within her body, how she managed to manipulate it to do so was beyond him. And soon he could no longer see her with the aid of chakra, only the faint outline of a person. She was indeed more powerful then they expected.

"You see, now that your in the woods, your surrounded by shadows. You're in my territory now." Shikamuru grinned widely; unaware of the danger he was in by just standing there across from her. All he thought was that she had grown stronger, but still couldn't match him in the field of intellect.

"Your territory? Hn. I see." Sakura put a finger to her lips in mock thought, daring him to continue to do whatever he was planning to do to end the exam. Once again she contradicted Neji. So cold an emotionless, it was unexpected that she toyed with her prey. Maybe she was trying to urge them into anger and attack without thinking, however Shikamuru wasn't falling for it; if that was what Sakura was aiming for.

"Before I end this pointless exam, for its already evident that you're too weak to take on all of us, mind telling me how you were able to move out of the way of Naruto's Rasengan, or discharge it without any… more hazardous effects?" Shikamuru's eyes narrowed at Sakura, trying to scrutinize whether or not she would tell the truth in her answer. He knew for a fact that doing such an act required either great chakra control or a large reservoir and probably years of study for jutsus, and though she had that allotted time period, he honestly doubted she simply sat pouring over scrolls in the wee hours of the morning for an occasion like the one in the meadow. Shikamuru's chakra flared to life in front of Neji's eyes and he watched it manipulate the shadows into tangible hands, gripping her tightly, binding her until she would find it hard breathe the most shallowest of breaths. Almost immediately her chakra flared in response, though more subtle; so subtle that it was to the point where he could barely recognize it, for it was simply a light haze that drifted and mingled with Shikamuru's chakra which was integrated into the shadow.

"Impossible." Neji breathed out, all eyes turning to him as he clumsily stood up, stumbling backwards and breaking his fall against a tree with his left hand.

"What is it Neji?" Shikamuru's head snapped to Neji in concern, his shadows unceasingly constricting against Sakura who merely stood there, mouth curved into a small, devious smirk, her eyes never leaving Neji's.

"I'm afraid I do mind telling you Shikamuru, and unfortunately," Sakura finally broke the silence, a look of utter surprise morphing Shikamuru's face. She shouldn't be able to even breathe now, let alone speak. "I must finish this exam a little quicker then expected."

"Shikamuru watch out!" Neji barked, but it was already to late.

"Huh? Sakura can't do anything, what are you talking about?" Ino finally spoke up, grinning at Sakura and preparing her mind transfer jutsu. Neji was too desperate to realize that Ino had split positions with Choji in a matter of seconds, giving her the prime position for doing her mind transfer jutsu.

"No! Ino! Don't!" Neji tried to warn her, but again, it was too late. Ino's soul essence sprang from her body and towards Sakura, only to hit empty air.

"Shikamuru? How, what happened?" Choji gasped out suddenly standing up from his prior more languid sitting position, clutching an open bag of barbeque potato chips in his hand, which Neji also didn't spot the irregularity in.

"Impossible." Shikamuru gasped out, seemingly having a hard time breathing. "She… turned it… against me." Shikamuru finally passed out from lack of oxygen before a rather dense shadow detached itself from his neck and blended back in with the other shadows. Once again, Neji failed to observe how quick Shikamuru passed out, too caught in the moment to realize what was really going on.

"Be on your guard. Don't underestimate her." Neji ground out through his teeth to what remained of their team before vanishing, trying to formulate a plan on his own despite years of training that dictated that they were stronger if they grouped up. _If what I saw was real and not some genjustu, then I don't have a chance no matter what._ Neji silently cursed when he felt a flare of chakra to his right, minimal, but it was slightly apart from the rest. _So she knows that I know and now she's going to make me paranoid._ Neji dodged a flurry of shuriken that whizzed by his face by a matter of centimeters before ducking behind a tree to avoid several senbon. _Damn it! She's missing on purpose and trying to drive me deeper into the woods!_ Neji cursed again, climbing higher on his tree before flipping over it and heading in the opposite direction towards the meadow. _She'll take her time to toy with me there at least since it's out in the open and she doesn't have much to hide behind._ Neji concluded, urging chakra into his legs to propel him farther. He had to reach there first if he had any hope, and from the occasional flares of chakra that she was letting lose she was gaining on him rapidly. With a leap that even surprised him, he landed safely in the middle of the meadow, next to the unconscious form of Naruto who was face down in the dirt. He failed to realize that Naruto was facing up, towards the sky when Sakura had knocked him out.

"Sakura. Tell me, how did you acquire it?" Neji spoke out, rising from his crouched form and readying a kunai, knowing that she was hiding in the shadows of the trees. A flash of movement to his right alerted him her presence before she stepped out in the now fading rays of the sun. _Since when did it get so late?_ Neji wondered in confusion as his panic began to ebb. A wicked grin crossed her face before she exploded into a flurry of cherry blossoms that enveloped him, nipping and biting harshly despite their soft look, before merging into one being behind him. Neji froze in panic.

"Acquire what Neji-kun?" Sakura cooed in his ear, though behind the soft spoken words was a malicious intent. _Why is she so full of emotions now, albeit the more sinister ones? _"You know, I can't allow you to get away with knowing such information." Sakura's voice turned more deadly, like the trained shinobi she was.

"I promise you I won't tell." Neji murmured out, not wanting to move to startle her into action, though slightly tensing for preparation just incase she didn't buy it.

"Promises can be broken." Sakura's voice was as cold as ice, sending shivers down his spine. "I'm sorry, but I have to eliminate you." Sakura murmured, the grating of a kunai being lifted from its pouch reached his ears. _Since when was she carrying a kunai pouch? There were no visible weapons on her before._

"Please, Sakura. Upon pain of death, I swear not to tell!" Neji pleaded desperately, though he didn't know why. It was almost as if his body was acting of its own accord. He always had remained stoic in public, saying to believe in destiny and that things that happened were meant to be, that they were fated, but even when faced with death, the destiny that everything living shared, he still couldn't hold up to it. He was too afraid of it, to afraid of what was beyond it.

"Your death means nothing, as eventually you shall no longer care." Sakura lifted the kunai up to Neji's neck, a thin line of blood dripping from where the edge had brushed against his skin. Sweat accumulated on Neji's body, dripping and gliding down his arms despite the cooling evening. _Now or never…_Neji finally concluded, tensing up to swing his body around to aim a high kick at Sakura's head to knock her out. Only he couldn't move.

"How?" Neji croaked out, his throat suddenly dry. _Is she really willing to kill me in front of the council and the Hokage herself? This is an exam not a death match!_ Neji thought frantically, never expecting Sakura to truly be serious about fighting like they wanted to kill each other.

"I won't kill you," Sakura began and Neji visibly relaxed before stiffening at Sakura's next words. "But if I perchance get the impression that you have, or may be on the verge of letting the information loose, Tenten may end up on the isle with a priest for a different sort of ceremony. Accidents do happen after all." Sakura whispered cruelly. Neji's eyes widened in shock at her implications. _What is going on Sakura? What happened to you to make you so cold and forget your friends?_ Neji opened his mouth to release pent up frustration and a flurry of accusation and questions on Sakura but before he could do so he felt a thud at the base of his skull and his world slowly dissolved into a haze of sakura petals. _Genjustu? How? When? _Neji finally realized his error. _She looked into my eyes when I was observing her chakra system. _He could already feel unconsciousness tug mercilessly at his eyelids, after all the effects of genjutsu still trick the body into believing what happened in the genjutsu happed in reality, but he had to make sure it was just a genjustu and not a twisted form of reality. Using the last bit of his remaining willpower he forced his eyes open, though only able to pry the open a crack he was able to tell he was still residing the forest as the ground was littered with leaves and various pine cones, along with a rather large root not too far in front of his face. Reassured that the threats where only part of the genjutsu taking control of his more imaginative and illogical side he let oblivion take him, not wanting to remember the events that happened in the simple, yet terrifying jutsu. The last thing he heard was Tenten crying out his name in panic.

* * *

"Neji!" Tenten cried out as she gathered the unconscious Hyuga into her arms before glaring full on at Sakura who was still standing there, looking at Neji's collapsed form as if nothing had happened. "What did you do to him?" Tenten growled out, reaching into one of her pockets to pull out one of numerous scrolls. Sakura however remained silent, her eyes finally moving on from Neji and drifting loftily to and fro between the remaining opposition she faced. _Next target based on: no priority field left open. All remaining targets can now be eliminated without the hazard of being overpowered or a leakage in information._ Sakura finally assessed as she finally rested her gaze on a furious Tenten. "Answer me damn you!" Tenten seethed, thumbs itching dangerously close to the seal of the rolled up parchment.

"He was merely in a genjutsu. Do not worry." Sakura finally replied, her voice reflecting nothing of the recent events. It was mere child's play to here. _Just as it should be to them. _Sakura added mentally. _I left more then enough clues for him to realize what was happening at the time. It was his fault for ignoring them._

"You're going to pay for that!" Tenten growled out, even more irate with Sakura's nonchalant answer. Things weren't how Tenten expected them to be with Sakura's return, especially the events with the exam. She had expected an easy win against an old comrade who would get accepted back on the team as a friend, the friend they all liked to tease and joke about while caring for at the same time; a precarious balance, but one that she had fit the role of so easily in the past, a role that she with her newfound strength could no longer pay.

With little effort Tenten flipped into the air, careful to avoid the branches, and broke the seal on the scroll, letting it gracefully twirl around her. It was a jutsu she had used on Temari in the chuunin exams, and she was confident that it would be more then enough to knock out Sakura. She may have excellent chakra and genjutsu skills, more so then before, but she would always lack in the fields of taijutsu and ninjutsu. Or so she thought.

"Hold her still Shikamuru!" Tenten commanded him, much to his dismay. He wanted to have as little do with the conflict as much as possible, though now he found it impossible. If he didn't do what Tenten said he would get yelled at later.

"Troublesome woman." Shikamuru muttered out, but non-the less used his shadow jutsu to render Sakura immobile. Several things happened in the next few moments. Shikamuru collapsed on the ground, his own shadowy hand relinquishing its grasp on his neck from where it had pressed several pressure points at once to knock him out and Sakura disappeared, Tenten's numerous weapons, thudding dully against the ground, missing Ino was beside Sakura, readying her mind-transfer jutsu, by inches.

"Watch were you throw your weapons Tenten!" Ino yelped, jumping back in fear before a kunai lifted off the ground, quite eerily, by it self and knocked her unconscious. Kiba who had been watching with growing interest decided that now would be the best time to join in, shaking a drowsy Akamaru awake, who when seeing the kunai knock Ino out and sniffing the air experimentally a couple of times stood, brushing Kiba to the ground with a painful thump, baring his teeth and growling at the dormant weapons scattered where Sakura once stood.

"What is it Akamaru?" Kiba asked, panic seeping into his voice. Nothing had ever gotten Akamaru's attention so quickly before. However, whatever it was, Akamaru remained opted to remain silent about it. "Akamaru?" Kiba asked in wide-eyed concern. "Akamaru!" Kiba gasped as Akamaru's eyes drift shut, falling over on top of Kiba, unconscious, a senbon imbedded in his thick skin. Plucking the senbon out Kiba studied it, seeing nothing else to do since he was trapped under Akamaru's weight and couldn't reach his own weapons. It could come in handy if Sakura came up to attack him. A green coating on the end of the senbon caught his attention however before he could start to assess his possibilities. "A sleeping agent?" Kiba wondered aloud, ignoring the darkening shadow above him until it was too late. "Sakura!" Kiba yelped in surprise, dropping the senbon instantly as if burned. Instinct took over however and he instantly tried to grab it, succeeding though grazing himself with the tip.

"I'll be taking that now." Sakura reached down, her pink hair acting as an ethereal veil in the golden sunlight whose source was slowly descending beyond the horizon. She reminded him of an angel, a pain stricken angel. It fit her beauty and her emotionless attitude. Desperate not to let her get the best of him Kiba weakly fought back, his strength however diminishing as he realized the sleeping agent had entered his blood stream accidentally. "Nighty-night." Sakura whispered, as if talking to a child before slipping the senbon out of his numb fingers.

Sakura stood stiffly, her aura giving off a slightly troubled feeling for an instant. She had no reason to speak those last two words, yet she had. She acted on impulse. It was something that she had never done. And she never wished to do so again. It was too unpredictable and inefficient. _Imperfect._ She decided on, pushing such thoughts to the back of her mind for her to maul over at a later time. She did have priorities to set in order, but now was not the time in which to do so. Choji, who was crunching away from one of his numerous snacks, was ignorant of the ongoing events, too absorbed into gathering all the crumbs left in the foil back and into his awaiting, gaping mouth. Wiping the remainder of the crumbs off his mouth and stuffing the empty bag into one of his pockets he finally came back to reality.

"Huh? What happened? Ino! Kiba! Shikamuru!" Choji jumped up with amazing speed for his weight, only to come face-to-face Sakura herself. "Now Sakura, play nice. We all know you're just pretending and –" Choji's voice cut off as he slumped to the ground, a kunai landing his a soft plop right above him head. _I am not pretending, unfortunately for you. I won't simply lie down and let you walk over me. Again. _Sakura's emotionless stare, which in this case was her form of a glare, left Choji when Tenten's shaky voice broke through the tension.

"What… how… did you do that? With the kunai I mean. There's no chakra strings attached at all… and…" Tenten mumbled off aimlessly, eyes as wide as saucers, hands shaking uselessly at her sides.

"Hn." Was Sakura's only response. In truth, if she had been anywhere else she would have refrained from answering, and kept silent, no grunts, no noise. Just silence. But recently she had started to feel rather… flexible was the best description, around her old friends. Part of the weight of the sorrowful world was lifted, and the tiny stars began twinkling in her darkness. There was hope. And it frightened her. She had to remove them quickly, not end their lives for she couldn't do that without serious repercussions, but at the very least remove them from her presence, avoid them, before their light spread through her. She wasn't of light, she was of the dark, and she wanted it to stay that way. _Enough playing. Finish them off. _Sakura ordered herself, Tenten's summoned weapons rising simultaneously from the ground that they had once been imbedded in, thin, only one ion thick of chakra, tendrils connecting them to her body and her will. But it was more then enough. She didn't need to speak, but she felt the silent urge to. Warning of them of their impending doom, their defeat, while at the same time comforting them in an odd sense, letting them know it was over and they once again could return to their normal lives and routines.

Sakura uttered one simple word, oddly sounding like Shikamuru before, only this time she was certain of her victory, before the weapons zoomed in three opposite directions in order to catch their prey at unearthly speeds that even Lee couldn't outrun or dodge.

"Checkmate."

* * *

**Translations:**

**Gomenasai - I'm sorry. **

**Datte - Wait. (Well, according to the site I found it's wait. I hope the sight is correct!)**

**Dear Readers,**

**Sigh If you didn't notice me sort of wrapping it up quickly at the end, well then I did. (Random FYI.) And I don't like the fact that I did. Truth be told I'm a little uncomfortable with this chapter... it's just odd to me. Then again, I suppose that's how it's going to be for a little bit due to the fact I'm trying a slightly different writing style. I hope you caught on that Sakura is slightly less cold then what she appears to me and is... unsettled by it. It will play on later on the story. And Leon will be back too! (I, as the authoress of the story, must admit even though he's been entered only once in the story is slightly attached to the little kid.) Anyways, enough of my rambling! Please, pretty please! With a cherry on top review! I didn't get any review for my last chapter (although I can see why, I do think it horrid... well not horrid... just not my best...) which is slightly disappointing. I _thrive _off reviews! It gives me some inspiration at times! (that is if you make a suggestion, hint hint.) Also, see any mistakes? Please tell me! I know i made some... somewhere... they're lurking in the story! Arg! I need to stop rambling. **

**Ja ne!**

**P.S. See the purple button? It feels lonely and needs love. Only way to make it feel better is to click it!**


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